Trapped
by Alinah
Summary: When poachers seem to raid the area around Imladris, more is threatened than the life of wild animals.
1. The Storm

Hello everyone,

it seems that the plotbunnies will not stop attacking me. That is what you get when you cage them in for several years. You open the door just a little and – woosh – they attempt to crush you

I don´t know how long this story will turn out to be – probably a few chapters. I promise NOT to leave it unfinished...

Enjoy, and please take the time to review.

Alinha

**Note:** This story can be considered AU

**Warning:** This chapter contains the rather gruesome death of an animal. Also, the text has not been read by a beta. All mistakes are my own, and I apologize for them

**The Storm**

Legolas halted his steed and glanced up at the sky. Dark clouds collected at the horizon, accompanied by strengthening gusts of wind. Before long they would grow into a full-fledged storm.

Soothingly he ran his hand along his black mare´s neck. "Do not worry, my friend. If we make haste we may reach Imladris before the weather strikes." The horse´s sensitive ears flicked backwards at his words, listening intently. Legolas smiled.

"Ah, I see that you recall Imladris. Our last visit is four years past, but I would not think you had forgotten the pampering you received there."

The mare shook her head, sending her mane flying, and eagerly pawed the ground. Truth be told, the elf shared her impatience. He could already sense the soothing protectiveness that emanated from the Last Homely House, even though they had not yet entrered the reach of Vilya´s power.

What a stark difference it formed to the growing tensions that darkened his own home. He felt his heart fill with regret but pushed the feeling aside. They had to be thankful for those elven realms that were protected by rings of power. The others, such as Mirkwood, needed to be fought for with bow and sword. He was ready to do so for as long as there was need-

Even though, he cherished the thought of a respite in Lord Elrond´s house.

Leaning forward, he whispered an often-repeated challenge to his steed. "Very well, Orndae, let us see how fast you can run." The mare gladly responded. Before long the ground flew past beneath her hammering hooves, her strength eating away the road as if it was nothing. Legolas laughed out loud even as the first drops of rain hit his face.

Safety was near and at this speed they would outrun any storm.

/

In Imladris, the mood was less carefree. Estel could sense it clearly when he made his way from the stables to his room. The growing storm had forced him inside far earlier than he had planned and the short ride had failed to rid him of the restlessness he felt of late. When he heard agitated voices drifting out of Lord Elrond´s study, he directed his steps into that direction.

The door stood slightly ajar. Estel slowed his steps and stopped once he was near enough to hear was was being said.

"How many did you find?" Lord Elrond´s voice was calm, yet beneath it boiled tightly controlled anger.

"A deer and four rabbits", another elf responded. Estel recognized him to be Celeg, one of the hunters who spent most of their time in the woods and meadows that surrounded the Last Homely House. The young human liked him, for he had been allowed to accompany him on more than one occasion.

"None came to claim the kills. Crows and wolves had been at the carcasses already when I reached them." There was a pause, and Estel heard footsteps pace back and forth.

"Were the traps laid properly, at least?" The boy thought that his adopted father already knew the answer to his own question. He could tell by his tone of voice.

"Nay, my lord. It must have taken the poor creatures a long time to die. I could see traces of their struggles in the soil. The leg traps seem to have been laced with poison, however it brought no quick end. Also, the traps were secured with more than one chain each, making it impossible to escape."

Estel´s eyes widened. He cherished hunting, especially because his talent at it had earned him the respect of many elves who otherwise saw nothing but a child in him. Few recognized that at thirteen years of age he was fast approaching maturity.

Even so, he did not enjoy bringing death. He always endeavoured to be as quick as possible. The elves likewise trained hard to deliver the killing blows efficiently. It was incomprehensible for the boy that anyone would lay cruel traps like that without even gathering their spoils.

For long moments, there was complete silence. "I see", Lord Elrond finally said. "I take it that you disabled the traps?"

"Of course, my Lord. I brought them with me to prevent further use. They are in the shack behind the stables."

"You did well, my friend. I thank you for your quick actions. We need to stop this needless slaying, even though it takes place outside our borders. Only yesterday Tirlavan brought similar news, only that he found the traps to the west."

"While mine were near the road to the mountain pass. Aye, it seems that poachers mean to surround us! If I may suggest so, my Lord, I would like to organize the hunters into patrols." Celeg was clearly agitated.

"I am not sure that this is the deed of poachers, for they would not leave their kills to the wolves", Elrond replied. "Even so, I commend your idea. Please, take with you as many as are willing. Go for the northern and southern borders first, as that is where no-one as looked yet."

Quick steps left the study, and Estel suddenly found himself at a loss how to cover up that he had been eavesdropping. All that he could do was walk foreward briskly, as if he was just now coming down this hallway.

"Greetings, Celeg." He nooded to the hunter. He burned to be going with him, to become a part of his patrols, yet he knew he could not ask without giving himself away. He received an absent-minded greeting in return. At least this meant that his presence had not been detected.

Estel turned to watch the hunter´s retreating back, then made his decision to talk to his father.

When he knocked at the open door, Lord Elrond was seated behind his desk with a quill in his hand, but he was not writing. The lines of worry that surrounded his eyes smoothed slightly when he saw the boy.

"Estel, you are back early. I thought you wanted to grant your horse a chance to stretch those fast legs of his." The boy could not help but smile proudly. His stallion was indeed one of the fastest in Imladris´ stables.

"The weather turned foul, father", he responded. "I did not want to risk us getting caught in a storm."

"That was a wise choice, my son." The elf put away his quill and looked at Estel expectantly. "I take it that you would like to ask me a question?"

The boy nodded cautiously. With a father that had the gift of foresight, there was no way to guess how much he knew in advance, but Estel had developed a rather sound instinct regarding this. At the moment, he sensed that the elf knew more than he let on.

"I would like to ask Celeb to take me tracking again" he said, deciding to be as straight forward as possible.

"To go after the ones who needlessly slay animals?" Lord Elrond raised an eyebrow. "I dare say that this is a brave request, my son. But I have to tell you no."

The boy did not even question how his father had guessed that he knew oft he traps. Maybe he had sensed him listening in the hallway. Maybe his foresight had told him. All that mattered was that Estel could not live with the answer.

"Please, father. I promise that I will stay out of the way. I will do whatever Celeb says."

Lord Elrond sighed. "Estel, I know that you are brave. I know that you are very capable of following orders, if you so wish. But I sense true malice at work here. Putting you in this sort of danger is out of the question."

"But ada..."

"No. This is my last word on the matter." The elf lord gave the boy a stern look.

Estel felt his anger boil to the surface. He knew it showed on his face when he continued to stare at his adopted father, refusing to back down. All Lord Erlond did was stare back. For what seemed like an eternity they stayed like this, eyes locked in mute confrontation.

At last Estel cast his eyes down. Tears of anger stung on his cheeks when he turned and briskly walked away, steps echoing in the empty hallway. Why did he have to be turned away whenever a task truly mattered?

Outside, the wind picked up even further. Branches rattled against rooves and windows. A tempest was brewing.

/

Legolas could sense the welcoming safety of Imladris drawing closer. By now daylight had almost completely fled the skies even though dusk should have been at least two hours away. Orndae had settled into a speedy gallop that she could maintain well into the night if need be.

Suddenly, a sound reached the elf´s ears. He could tell his mare had heard it too, because she slightly turned her head to the left, gazing sharply into the underbrush. After a brief pause the sound appeared again, and this time Legolas urged his horse to a stop.

The sound rose above the wind once more, louder this time. It was a scream filled with panic and pain.

Orndae nickered softly, pawing the path. Legols judged that they had almost reached the borders of Lord Elrond´s realm. He could feel Vilya´s power like a warm glow at the edge of his consciouness. Momentarily unsure, he looked up at the sky again, then turned to watch the trees whose branches were already creaking with the onslaught of the wind.

Mingled into the voice of the growing storm the mournful cry was heard yet again, lasting long before it turned into a fading whimper.

The mare shook her head with a snort, then stepped away from the path, into the direction of the sound. Legolas smiled softly. "You are quite correct. We have braved worse weather than this together. It is worth the risk. Someone seems to need our help."

Despite his decision Legolas was reluctant to delay their journey for longer than necessary. He urged Orndae into a gallop again and she readily complied, ears pricked forward and eyes never leaving the uneven terrain.

Before long they reached an overgrown glad. Legolas immediately made out the fallen form of a young deer at the far end of the meadow. Tremors ran through its form. Sensing someone approach it tried to rise but then collpased again, uttering a pitiful sound of pain.

Orndae picked up her speed, racing towards the wounded beast. They had barely cleared the trees when there was a sharp metallic snap. Abruptly, Legolas felt his mare´s momentum stop as her legs were ripped away from under her. He heard a second sound, the sickening crunch of broken bone, before he was thrown forcefully off the horse´s back.

Orndae´s dreadful screech burned in his ears before the impact of the ground momentarily took away all sight and sound. Rolling instinctively, Legolas managed to get his feet under him but just as he was about to righten himself, a bolt of pain shot through his left ankle.

With a scream of his own he fell back to the ground. He felt as if a heavy weight had crushed into his chest, taking away any chance to draw breath. The pain did not lessen, it only grew , a liquid darkness swallowing any other sensation.

Legolas could feel his consciousness slipping fast, but then his horse´s screams cut through the haze. With an effort he pushed back the blackness that threatened to drown him. He could not suppress another shout of pain when he forced himself onto his knees.

Several feet away, Orndae lay sprawled in the grass. Foam had formed at her mouth, her eyes wild and white with panic. Sides heaving, she tried to push herself up again and again but the elf immediately knew it was useless.

One of her forelegs was buried beneath her and by the angle he could tell it was crushed. The other was obviously broken, too, unnaturally twisted to the side. With sickening certainty Legolas knew that his mare would never rise again.

He drew a breath, then another, trying to calm his own panic and overwhelming sadness. This was no time to give in to emotions. Orndae had faithfully born him through sunshine and rain for more than a decade. He had to render her one last service.

"Sidh, mellon-nîn",/Peace, my friend/ he whispered and barely kept back a sob before he finally managed to control his feelings. "Lasto ni glîr."/Listen to the song./

He began to sing softly, trying to draw comfort from the song while he calmed the panicked horse. Orndae stopped struggling, her wide eyes focussing on his face with hopeful trust. Her sides heaved as she drew in breath after painful breath. He sang of peaceful days, of sunshine and blooming meadows. While he sang, he tried to unstrap his bow but quickly realized that it was no use. His fall had broken the sturdy weapon in two.

Making an effort to keep his voice even, he instead reached for his knives. Inwardly, he apologized to his trusted mare for the fate that had befallen her because of him, then he aimed a blade at one of her soulful eyes. His song never wavering, he allowed the weapon to fly.

It found its mark dutifully and the laboured breathing that had filled the stormswept evening stopped.

Legolas let the song fade away and sank back to the ground. The darkness around him was now complete.

To be continued...


	2. On Their Own

**On Their Own**

The strorm´s howl had aggravated into a constant roar by the time Elrond´s household usually met for their evening meal.

This day, Estel only had his adopted brothers Elladan and Elrohir for company in the kitchen. Most of the other elves were out and about, securing the stables and watching the windows.

Elladan eyed the young human critically while the boy listlessly chewed the meat off a bone. After a while he asked: "How does it come to be that you are sitting here with us, Estel? I thought you would be needed to guard a room or calm the horses."

Estel threw him a moody glance. "You are wrong. I am not needed for anything here."

"That is nonsense, little one", Elrohir chimed in. "There is no-one I would rather spend my time with, our oldest brother excluded, of course."

The young human dropped his half-empty bone onto his plate with a clatter. "If that is so, then why do you never take me with you when you go hunting! Why do you not even notice that I am not so little anymore?!"

The younger twin frowned slightly. "We have taken you hunting many a time. What is all this complaining about?"

Estel balled his fists. He knew in his heart that he was not truly angry at Lord Elrond´s twin sons. Out of all the elves he knew, they were amongst the few who treated him like one of their own. Almost, at least. But now, they were the only ones present and thus presented the sole target for his ire.

"No, you do not take me hunting! You take me to the meadows for a few days and shoot some arrows with me. When you go hunting, you go alone and you stay away for weeks and months. Why do you never take me with you then?"

The twins exchanged a glance.

It was Elladan who answered. "We do not take you with us then because when we go out to hunt, we are not on the trail of deer or even boars. We hunt orcs."

Estel´s eyes grew wide at the blunt statement, as did Elrohir´s, who wore an expression of stunned disbelief. Elladan leaned across the table and looked directly into the boy´s eyes. "If you think we do not see how you grow, you are mistaken. We never told you what we hunt because we deemed you too young to know. You are not anymore. But you are too young to join us yet."

He abruptly got to his feet, as if he could not bear to look at his youngest brother anymore. "The day will come when you will be old enough to ride out with us and face the darkness of the world. Be glad it is not this day."

Silence fell among them. Estel´s anger had evaporated into a mixture of elation and fear. He sensed that what he had just learned was truly not meant for children. He did not know what to say.

Elrohir gently took his hand and said kindly: "Do not hold our reluctance to show you the dark side of the world against us, Estel. You will have to face it soon enough. Let me just say that knowledge is a sword that cuts both ways. It gives you strength, but it can also scare you. Knowledge is a gift you cannot give back, Estel. You cannot un-know things you have learned, even though sometimes you might wish to do so.. Please do not be too eager to know what is in the shadows."

The boy nodded, still stunned.

"On a brighter note, has Ada told you that Legolas will be visiting us soon?" Elladan smiled, the darkness that had glowed in his eyes only moments ago erased. "He could arrive any day, in fact."

Estel beamed. "I shall have to practice with the bow some more then. I promised to beat him at a shooting contest once he returns for a visit. The last time he was here, I could hardly even draw a bow. He´ll be surprised!"

A particularly loud gust of wind suddenly rattled the building, unseen hands pushing against the groaning windows. The boy flinched, his eyes suddenly worried.

"I hope Legolas has found shelter from the storm", he said quietly. Elladan nodded his agreement. "Aye. Not even an elf should be out in this weather."

/

It was the driving rain that slowly forced Legolas back awake. The storm howled around him like a beast on the hunt, circling him as its prey.

His thoughts foggy, the elf tried to rise but was stopped short by a blinding pain that flashed through his left leg, pushing him back to the edge of unconsciousness . He struggled against the current into oblivion, his instincts screaming at him to become alert.

Once his mind surfaced once more, some coherency had returned to his thoughts, and with it the memory of what happened. His glance shot to his right, seeking out the faint outline of his fallen steed. His breath caught in his throat, nausea rising in a stinging wave.

While he was still stuggling to overcome the sensation, he heard a deafening thud, shortly followed by another. He sensed the trees that surrounded the glade groan and heave in pain, faintly sending him a warning. Only heartbeats later, a dark bulk came flying towards him from the darkness.

Legolas barely managed to flatten himself against the wet ground in time. The heavy branch grazed his back where it got caught on his was painfully pulled across the ground until the leather straps snapped and the branch was pushed on by the storm´s strong hands, taking the quiver and arrows with it.

The pain was deafening, but Legolas forced himself to concentrate on the trees´ voices which kept calling out to him in fear, both for his and for their own safety. More branches snapped, crashing into the glade to his left and right.

The elf tried to curl in on himself to present the smallest possible target, but his wounded leg would not move. It was pulled taught, fires of agony licking at his skin. With a pained groan Legolas pushed himself sideways until the tension in his leg eased a little. He then ran shaking hands down the injured limb until they encountered cold metal that had bitten into his flesh to the bone. His fingers found two chains that led from the trap in opposite directions, holding the device in place - and him with it.

He brought his hands back to his face, staring blindly at the scarlet liquid that covered them. A foul smell mingled with the copper odour of blood. It was not one he had encountered before, yet he knew enough about leg traps to understand it had to be poison.

For a short moment the turmoil in his body and mind stilled, leaving nothing in his thoughts but the realization that he had no chance to escape. He had nowhere to hide, no means to ease his pains and nothing but a single knife to defend himself with Then the moment had passed and a fresh wave of pain and panic washed over him with deadly force. In its wake there came a blackness which he welcomed this time, unsure whether he even wished to ever leave it again.

/

The storm raged for three whole days, and when it finally cleared, it left devastation in its wake. Trees had been uprooted, roofs damaged, windows smashed. The rain had soaked the ground beyond what it was able to absorb, leaving creeks twice their usual size and meadows transformed into shallow ponds.

When the sun finally reconquered the sky, Lord Elrond was quick to issue his orders. The elves set out to repair the damage unhurriedly, yet with quiet effinciency. Small groups where sent to nearby dwellings to offer assistance.

It was a time of hard work that made Estel forget his former anger. Even his fear for Legolas´ safety was eased now. The twins had continued to reassure him that the elven prince had been through equally bad storms and knew how to find shelter. Now, in the warm light, these claims were easier to believe.

He helped wherever he was needed, and no one hesitated entrusting him with chores. Days were filled with hard work and nights were short.

It was a week after the first day of the storm that Lord Elrond took his human son aside. He placed his hands on the boy´s shoulders with a smile. "I am proud of you, Estel. You proved a true asset in times of need. Are you willing to take on yet another task?"

The young human felt color rise to his cheeks and he nodded eagerly. "Of course, ada. What would you have me do?"

"Take you stallion and seek out the path that leads to the mountain road. We need to make sure it is not blocked beyong passing. Take quill and paper with you to note down where work needs to be done." The elf lord´s tone turned even more serious. "Do not go past our borders, Estel, and do not leave the path unless it is to briefly skirt an obstacle. Never try to remove debris on your own. If the path is fully blocked, return immediately. Is that understood?"

The boy nodded yet again. He could sense that he was entrusted with a man´s task, and he was determined to fufill it to his father´s satisfaction.

/

Oblivion was not merciful enough to offer Legolas infinitive shelter. He kept waking from it, and each time the glade around him had altered. To the elf it was as if everything around him changed in the blink of an eye, a dizzing swirl of changes whenever he so much as blinked. Dark to light, light to dark, rain to an overcast sky, grey skies to sunshine. It was disorientating.

Now and again an ounce of strength would return to him, allowing him to seek ways out of his predicament. Once he attempted to force open the trap with his remaining knife, but it proved to be an utterly painful endeavour that yielded no results.

His thirst drove him to drink from the muddy water that the storm had left in the meadow. But worst of all was the way the never-ending pain joined forces with a biting cold.

It was not like Legolas had never felt cold before, but he had never been alone to endure it for so long. Only subjected to this feeling when he was gravely hurt or exhausted beyond his considerable endurance, there had always been someone at his side to ease his suffering. Not this time.

When wakefulness once again nudged at his senses, the elf kept his eyes shut and waited for the darkness to return. Why should he want to see a world he could not reach, trapped as his was to this one damnable spot?

Yet his senses refused to return to the sweet numbness of unconsciousness. His leg burned with ferocity, so much so that he failed to recall a time when it had been any different. The cold had crept into his lungs and made every breath a painful effort.

There was something else, though, a change to what had been before. The trees whispered warnings to him yet again, and their ancient voices grew more and more urgent when he failed to react to them.

And then there was a snarl.

Legolas´ eyes shot open, his will to endure snapping to life with such force that it even dulled the pain. Cautiously the elf set up, silently dismayed at the considerable effort it took. The glade shimmered in soft evening sunshine, but beneath the trees dark shadows moved. Hungry eyes glinted.

Wolves.

Legolas took a deep, steadying breath and unsheathed his knife. A calm came over him the way it always did before a battle. Maybe, just maybe the wild beasts would finally set him free, but he found himself strangely determined to keep them from doing so. It surprised him that he was willing to defend his life, consindering how painful it had become. Yet his life it was, and it was his obligation to fight for it.

/

Estel had left the Last Homely House behind some time after noon. He could not move fast, no matter how much his eager steed wished to do so, for the path was littered with branches. To the left and right, trees had been tossed aside like toys, in some places lying on top of each other to reveal blue skies where there used to be thick foilage.

Dutifully, Estel noted down where the worst damage was located. He was set on reaching the eastern border of Imladris before returning home. So focussed he was on this goal that he was surprised when he realized that dusk began to fall. Looking around, he saw with delight that he had achieved his aspiration.

"Ai, Alagos, we have not paid attention to the time!" The stallion turned his head towards his young rider and nickered. Estel chuckled. "I am not blaming you, do not worry. We have done well. But let us turn back now." The ride home would be less time-consuming because he had no need to stop and examine the storm´s damage. The boy was confident that he would reach his home safely before his adopted father´s worry would transformt to anger.

He had just turned his stallion around, when all of a sudden the animal stopped. Its nostrils flared and it began to prance nervously.

"What is it, my friend?" Estel gently rubbed the horse´s soft fur. His own senses began to awaken, the hair at the back of his neck standing up and his heart beating faster. Unconsciously he reached for the bow that was strapped to the side of his steed and he silently nocked an arrow to the string.

For a moment the boy and his horse stood frozen, listening in an attempt to locate the danger they both sensed. Then a loud shout shattered the silence, followed by the unmistakeable snarl of a wolf. Only heartbeats later there was a painfilled screech.

Estel and Alagos where moving as one, the steed jumping fallen trees gracefully as they raced towards the cause of the commotion. It did not take them long to reach a small glade. Estel´s heart jumped into his throat in shock as he beheld the gruesome scene before him.

Only a few paces from him lay a dead horse. Three wolves had begun ripping the carcass apart, their fangs dripping blood when they stared up at the boy.

Another wolf was rolling on the ground, screeching pitifully but seemingly unable to move away from whatever was causing the pain.

And then there was the elf. He was kneeling with his back to Estel, one leg twisted awkwardly beneath him, the knife in his hand dipped in scarlet. A wolf lay dead before him, but a second just readied itself to jump.

Estel shouted in dismay and brought up his bow. The arrow whizzed off the string before he had taken proper aim and it went wide, only missing the elf´s blond head by a handbreadth.

Estel saw the flinch this caused, but the elf did not turn, keeping his eyes on the wolf. The animal had at least been distracted by the unexpected attack and the boy hastily fumbled for a second arrow. His hands shook so much that he dropped it. Cursing, he pulled out a third.

"Calm", he breathed to himself, "be calm." It was easier said than done though, when before him was no training target but a snarling wolf that was about to rip an elf apart. With an effort he forced his heart to slow at least a little.

His eyes sought out the chest of the wolf, and with a prayer to the Valar he released the shot. This time, his aim was true. The wolf fell silently, the light leaving its eyes before it hit the ground.

The wolves feeding on the horse turned to stare. Out of instict, Estel dropped the bow, reached down to snatch a half-detatched branch off a tree and waved it at the beasts. "Ha! Ego! Ha!" /Be gone!/ After a moment´s hesitation the animals turned and ran, disappearing towards the opposite line of trees.

Estel´s heart raced and his hands shook. He could not even hold the reins properly, but he knew he had to get to the elf and urged Alagos forward. The stallion had only set one hoof onto the glade when the elf suddenly whipped around.

His knife glinted in the reddening light of the evening sun when it cut through the air with deadly precision. It caught the last remaining wolf in the throat and instantly stopped its pitiful struggle. Then, he looked up at the boy, his eyes burning, and shouted: "Daro! Hnyf!"/Stop! Traps!/

Automatically, Estel did as he was told. His gaze locked with the elf´s and he felt as if the earth was falling away beneath him. "Legolas?"

Around them, the darkness began to deepen. Soon, it would be night.

_To be continued..._

Review responses:

_Thorongirl_: Great! Wonderful to have you on board Thanks for the review.

_Horsegirl01_: Yep, I feel bad for killing the horse but it´s really the plotbunny´s fault *g* About the effects of the trap - its a pretty viscious one and poisoned, too... Hope you liked this chapter also, and thanks for your comment.


	3. Building Defences

**Building Defences**

Legolas stared at the young boy in utter disbelief. The energy that had flooded him during the attack of the wolves began to ebb away, but he struggeled to keep his senses from slipping into darkness.

Estel looked at him with eyes that were wide and fearful, trying to comprehend what had just happened. How could he even begin to explain? How could he keep the child from harm? Protecting himself had been difficult enough. Protecting somebody else seemed an impossible task .

"Estel", the elf said in a voice raspy with disuse, "where are the others?" He could not fathom that Lord Elrond had allowed his human son to venture this far into the wild without an escort.

The boy turned automatically but found only his horse behind him. No voices could be heard in the distance, no clutter of hooves."The others?" he replied shakily. "Did you bring Mirkwood warriors with you?" There was a trace of hope in the youngster´s voice.

Legolas shook his head, both in answer to the question and in shock. They were truly alone in the glade, darkness quickly gathering around them. There was no question in his mind that the wolves would return before dawn. His fear for the boy further cleared his thoughts and his voice was stronger when he spoke again.

"Estel, you need to ride home and get help. There is nothing more you can do here." The child nodded and slowly turned to mount his horse, but then he hesitated, turning back towards the elf. Some of the fear had begun to leave his eyes and he wrinkled his forehead.

"But you are hurt. I cannot just leave you here."

Legolas sighed. "I appreciate your concern, young one, but you would serve me better if you rode for your father."

Estel did not seem to have heard him. His grey eyes were now scrutinizing the elven prince closely. "You are shivering", he noted. "You should not be cold. And what is wrong with your leg?" He made one step onto the meadow as if to approach his friend but was cut short by the elf´s sharp order.

"Stay where you are, Estel,! Not one more step!" He coughed, gathering his strength to say more. He needed the boy to leave, and leave now, before the darkness at the edge of his consciousness overwhlemed him as it had done so many times before.

"Listen to me, this glade is laced with leg-traps. They are poisoned. You cannot get to me safely. Ride home, please." Speaking made his chest contract painfully and he had to stop, his breath wheezing. His troubles forced him to take some of his attention away from the boy. Even so, he was aware that the child abruptly turned to his horse. Finally! Exhausted, Legolas allowed himself to sink to the ground, waiting for oblivion.

/

Estel´s mind had been in wild turmoil, but seeing how badly his elven friend was injured had cleared it. He was a healer´s son. It would take a whole pack of wrags to drag him away from someone so sorely wounded, even more so it it was a close friend.

Nonetheless he was painfully aware that whatever he would be able to do was certain not to be enough. Someone had to gather help, there was no question about it. And he would have to find a way to cross the glade without getting caught in a trap himself. And he would have to put up with a badly injured elven prince whose orders he had just ignored.

So be it. He was fairly certain he would rather face all this than turn his back.

Strangely, the many obstacles he needed to overcome served to calm him. After a moment´s consideration he pulled his travelling pack from his stallion´s back and placed it carefully at his feet. Then he fished his quill and paper out of his pocket and scribbled a quick note, detailing where they were and what had happened. He loosened the reins from the bridle to keep Alagos from tripping during his riderless journey home, and then used them to tie his note to the saddle.

Stepping back, he studied his handiwork. All seemed to be taken care of. "Run now, my friend", he whispered to the steed. "Run home and bring us help. But stay safe, beware of the trees and branches on the path." The horse looked at him steadily, the big dark eyes seemingly understanding every word. "Go now!" Estel said more loudly, giving the beast a light slap on the chest. "Mbar, lhagr!" /Home, quickly!/

After the briefest hesitation Alagos complied and jumped away into the darkness. For a little while, Estel could hear the horse breaking through the bunderbrush, but then the sounds faded away. To his surprise, the sudden silence drove a fresh spike of fear into his heart. Before it could take hold of him he turned to consider his next problem..

Night was falling quickly now, but he could still make out Legolas´ huddled form in the middle of the glade. At least he did not have to worry that the elf might be dead, for his laboured breathing could be heard quite clearly.

"But how to get to you?" Estel asked himself. It was definately too dark to see anything that was hidden in the grass, if that had even been possible in daylight. Coming to a decision, Estel shouldered his travelling pack and picked up a thick, sturdy branch . "This should do", he muttered and carefully prodded the ground before him, making sure it was clear before he stepped onto it.

It was slow going, but the glade was not very big. Before long, Estel had reached the injured elf. He felt elated at having solved this problem so smoothly, but the feeling was quickly replaced by insecurity.

This close to the elf, the boy way nearly overwhelmed by the metallic smell of blood. Legolas´ failure to acknowledge him and his erratic breathing suddenly unnerved the young human so much that he forgot his training, fell to his knees and shook his friend´s shoulders.

The prince´s eyes snapped open, accompanied by a shout of pain. He curled in on himself, his breaths turning to gasps as he tried to ride out the wave of nausea that the suddenly increaded anguish had relased upon him. Dimly, he heard a panicked voice at his side, repeating one phrase over and over and over again. It took long moments before the words penetrated the haze of pain, enabling him to understand them.

"I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry..."

Estel. When had he returned? Why did he still seem to be alone? Blindly he reached out with one hand until he found the boy´s and squeezed it reassuringly. He could not yet trust his voice to utter an intelligible word. All he could do was try to keep breathing.

Estel felt hot tears on his cheeks but angrily wiped them away. Legolas´ attempt to calm him, wordless as it was, had at least proven to him that his friend was truly still with him. He berated himself for losing his composure like that. He knew better then to shake the injured. What would his father say if he could see him now?

Strangely, the thought suddenly brought the memory of Lord Elrond´s calm voice to his mind, almost as if his adopted father was sitting beside him on the dark glade.

"Emotions are an asset, my son", the elven lord would say, "they serve as our protectors and often guide us onto the right path. However, you need to postpone them when you deal with the sick and injured. Never forget that there are only two things a healer must do when first encountering a patient."

Estel remembered now, for he had heard these word very often. Quietly he whispered them to himself. "First see, then find the remedy. First see, then find the remedy. First see..." He trailed off, suddenly aware of the darkness around them. He knew then what he had to do next, and the realization came as a great relief.

Gently, he pried his hand out of Legolas´ grasp and shrugged his pack off his shoulders. After a short search he found the tinder. Now for the wood – there were plenty of branches strewn about, but they were wet from lying on the soaken ground. His mind reeled, trying to come up with a solution.

"Higher", Legolas ground out beside him. Surprised, Estel found that the elf had opened his eyes, if only a little. He obviously understood what the boy was trying to accomplish. "In the trees. And get my pack." Momentarily confused, the human shook his head, but then he suddenly understood. The wind had snapped many branches that had remained in the trees where they would have had the chance to dry a little during the sunny day.. Many hung low enough for him to reach.

Worldlessly Estel got up. The thought of making his way over the glade yet again scared him more than before, strangely, but he would have to manage. He picked up a few fallen branches to mark a safe path through the grass, berating himself for not having done so before.

He had only made a few steps when Legolas called out to him again, his voice a little stronger. "Get my knives. Estel. And your bow." There seemed to be regret in his words.

The boy swallowed. He knew where one of the knives was and gingerly made his way back to the dead wolf. He was glad for the darkness when he reached down and wrenched the weapon free, blood sticking to his fingers.

"Where is your second knife?" he called back with the sickening feeling that he was not going to like the answer, and the time Legolas took to reply only hightened his anticipation.

"In my steed´s eye."

Estel´s breath caught. For a moment he was frozen to the spot, unable to move. Legolas seemed to sense his distress, for he said: "It is well, young one. One knife and your bow should also do." After a short silence he added: "I am truly sorry. You should not have to be here. You should not have to see this."

But he had chosen to stay. He had chosen to see. Taking quivering breaths, Estel forced his feet to move again. He would collect some wood first, then retrieve his bow. He would decide about the knife later.

Only a short time after that the boy carried an arm full of relatively dry branches and the bow slung over his shoulder. He thought about the knife, but realized that he had no way of carrying it. Not without dropping everything else and losing precious time. Legolas needed some warmth, he was sure of that.

"Later", he muttered to himself, " I will get the knife later."

Soon a merry little fire burned in the glade. Its warmth revived the elf´s spirit enough for him to push himself up on one elbow, holding his fingers as closely to the flames as he dared.

Estel noted with dismay how white his friend´s skin was, how his hand trembled. His face was deadly pale, the dark circles under his eyes looking almost like they had been drawn with coal.

Legolas felt the inquiring gaze and tried to smile. "Thank you for the fire, Estel. It is a most welcome relief. Now we should arrange our defences." He paused and eyed the boy for any sign of panic before he continued: "The wolves will be back."

A curt nod was his reply. The boy reached behind himself and carefully laid the bloody knife and his bow next to the fire. He lifted his gaze to look at Legolas, silently asking for approval. He hoped not to be asked to get the second knife.

However, Legolas´ eyes were on the bow instead. "Estel", he asked cautiously, "where are the arrows?" For a moment, all the boy could do was stare, dumbfounded. Then a coldness seized his heart and he felt tears rise to his eyes again, unbidden.

"They are strapped to my saddle", he whispered finally, not even daring to look up now. He heard the elf sigh, a strangely defeated sound that was worse than any reproval. Silence strechted between them, only broken by Legolas´ laboured breathing.

Estel swallowed hard. Somehow there had been a part of him that had relied on Legolas to defend him. He realized that now. He had considered his choice to stay mature, brave even, but his courage was melting away now, useless against the hot fear that gripped him. He could feel his breath quickening, panic silently stalking him like a beast of prey. He knew without a doubt that the elf would not be able to fight off the wolves in close combat. The pack would return, and they would be hungry...

Suddenly, the boy´s head snapped up. An idea entered his mind, but he knew he would have to act upon it quickly. Without a word he grabbed a branch, lit it in the fire and rushed along the trap-free path he had marked towards the dead wolf. It lay close the Legolas´ horse, but if he could just pull it a bit fruther aside...

"Estel?" Legolas called to him. "Come back here. We need to stay close to the fire. Do not worry, we will be safe enough without the arrows."

"No", the human replied with conviction. "No we will not be, not if the wolves are truly hungry. We need to put food between them and us." Snatching up a few branches, he hurriedly secured a second path, this time to portect himself when he moved the wolf.

When he was done, he grabbed the dead animal by the fur of its neck and pulled. It was heavy, and at first he could not move it a single inch. Grunting, he pulled harder, throwing his weight back with all his might.

The carcass moved. First one foot, then another. Estel only managed to drag it a few feet, however, before the trap that had caught its leg prevented any further movement. The boy cursed but did not dwell on the problem. He dimly wondered where his panic had gone, but a strange strength was coursing through his veins now, urging him on.

"Retrieve my pack", Legolas called from where he lay, obviously watching the young human closely. "There is some dried meat in there. Drench it in blood, then strew it about."

Estel nodded and quickly did as he was told. This time, he did not flinch at the stench of blood or at the amount of the liquid that covered his hands, his mind set on his task.

He also brought Legolas travelling coat with him and when he returned to the fire, he gently placed it over the elf. Legolas looked at him thoughtfully, and Estel felt a subtle shift in the way the elf regarded him. "The wolves should be distracted now if they approach from the left, from in front of or from behind us", Estel reported. "That leaves our right side unprotected. We should build a bigger fire there."

Legolas nodded slowly, a small smile of approval on his face. "It would make sense to create a ring of fires around us", he said. "There is no need to overly worry about our right. A dead deer lies there." His eyes turned sad again. "It was its screams that lead me here in the first place. It was my whish to help it." He paused at the memory before he continued dryly: "Now it seems it will help us."

Estel busied himself with the fires, also gathering more wood to feed them. When he finally sat down next to Legolas again the elf had closed his eyes, but took the human´s hand to let him now he was merely resting.

The boy felt his mood shift yet again. The activity had pushed his fear aside, but now it creeped up on him once more. He shook his head as if he could dislodge the feeling with the simple movement. He did not understand why his emotions were so erratic, throwing him about like waves would a boat in rough seas. Why could he never hold on to his courage once he had found it?

He tried to concentrate on keeping watch, on listening for the wolves or the approach of riders. How long since he had sent Alagos on his way? How long would the riders need to reach them? He could not get his mind to answer these questions, his thoughts constantly slipping back to the dangers around them.

He needed to act again. It had worked before to fight back his panic.

Struggling to his feet, he decided to collect more wood, only this time he would go to the other side of the glade where his chances of finding dry branches would be higher.

He gingerly stepped over Legolas, lit yet another branch to light his way and stepped between two fires.

He had only made a few strides when he heard Legolas call out in alarm. Not comprehending what was wrong he turned quickly, his heel grazing something hard in the grass. There was a sharp metallic snap, but at the same moment he felt himself seized by a pair of hands and yanked back towards their small camp.

Boy and elf landed in a heap. Estel´s mind was reeling until he finally understood. How could he have been so careless? He knew the glade was full of traps and now he had almost gotten caught in one. His shaking hand sought out his foot and he could feel the leather of his boot where it was ripped apart. The yaws of the trap had not been able to penetrate his skin, however, thanks to Legolas´ quick reaction.

Estel suddenly realized that the elf had not moved. Quickly, he untangled himself from his friend and laid him out on his back as best as he could. The elf´s eyes were closed and this time there was no reaction to show that he was still conscious. Biting back the sob that threatened to rise from his throat. Estel forced himself to look at Legolas´ injured leg.

It was the first time he had done so since he had reached his friend and he found his eyes turn away on their own account at the extent of the damage. Instead they focussed on the growing pool of fresh blood that gathered beneath the torn limb.

Estel´s hands shook when they ripped his cloak of his back and pressed it onto the wound. Warm wetness immediately drenched the thick fabric.

What was he to do? What was he to do now?

_**To be continued...**_

Review responses_:_

Rose61393: Thank you – I hoped you liked this one, too.

Pip the Dark Lord of All: Thanks (also for your other reviews!). I´m glad you like it.

Horsegirl01: You got it right, all the days trapped outside did not improve Legolas`health... Nor did this chapter help *g* Thanks for your comment.

SnoCat: Thank you – I hope this was soon enough *g*


	4. A Healer s Son

**A Healer´s Son**

"What do I do?" Estel could hear the panic in his voice. "What do I do? What…"

"Fear does not help you, my son." For the second time that night Lord Elrond´s voice echoed through his memories. "Remember your training. Rely on your knowledge. Listen to your instinct. First see, then find the remedy."

"First see", the boy repeated to himself. "First see…" He knew that this alone would be a challenge. His stomach had already turned at the first small glimpse of torn flesh and white bone. However, the warmth beneath his fingers reminded him that there was another, more pressing problem to be solved first.

A dull snap from beyond the trees made him raise his head, his eyes frantically searching the darkness beyond the fires for any signs of the wolves. He found none, yet his heart would not ease its frantic pounding. What would he do if the pack truly returned soon? He looked back down at Legolas and suddenly he knew the answer. He would do nothing about the wolves. He would hope that the defences they had put up would hold. He would try to treat the elf´s injuries to his best abilities. He was, after all, a healer´s son.

Once again it was resolve that helped Estel to focus. He tried to push down harder to stop the bleeding, the way he had been taught, but was immediately stopped short by the shout of pain from his friend and the hard feeling of metal beneath his hands. He groaned inwardly. How was he supposed to quench the flow of blood with the trap still embedded in Legolas´ leg? He briefly considered prying the accursed device off, but then quickly decided against trying. If possible, the elf would have long since freed himself.

What else could he do?

He looked around himself and saw his bow, useless without the arrows. The string would serve him well enough, though. The boy kept one of his hands lightly pressing his cloak to the wound and reached out with the other. It took some effort, but he finally managed to hook one finger around the curved wood and pull it towards him. Now how to loosen the string? This was a task he would need both of his hands to accomplish.

He hesitated for only a moment, then he quickly replaced his hand on the wound with one knee. Legolas groaned in pain and Estel felt fear and regret rise in him once more, but he fought them down. He sat back, taking some his weight off his knee, and continued. All he could do was try to be quick. He took the bow in both hands and attempted to bend it enough to slip off the string, but the sturdy weapon would not budge. The boy cursed to himself. He knew, of course, how to properly unstring a bow but this was done in a standing position. He would have to find another way.

The elf beneath him began to move, subconsciously trying to rid himself of the pressure that caused so much pain. Estel lost his balance and dropped the bow, falling forwards and barely catching himself on his hands. He was breathing hard and sweat began to collect on his brow and neck.

Something red caught his eye. In front of him lay the blood-covered knife.

The boy grabbed both the knife and the bow and pushed himself upright again, valiantly trying to ignore that this time his movement caused a hoarse cry of agony from his friend. His heart racing, Estel used the knife to cut the string. The wood snapped back and caught him in the cheek, but he did not register the pain. He turned, his knee still lightly on the wound, and began to wrap the bowstring around the elf´s thigh. He had to push his hand forcefully beneath his friend´s leg but there was no reaction to the jostling this time. Working frantically now, the boy pulled the string taught and applied a knot his father had taught him. It was secure, but could easily be released to allow the blood to flow again from time to time.

The boy´s head felt light when he allowed himself to sit down heavily beside Legolas´now still form. His vision was spinning. He drew deep, calming breaths until the world around him finally stilled and then bent forward to seek a pulse on the elf´s neck. He found one, fast and thready.

"What next?" he muttered to himself. He knew of course, but needed to persuade himself to work up the courage. He knew that he had to see.

With a gulp and a sigh, Estel carefully peeled his blood-soaked coat off the wound, gently dabbing some blood away with its edges. Only a trickle of fresh liquid oozed forward now, signaling that the boy had successfully stopped the bleeding. He tried to draw some comfort from the fact, because little else seemed hopeful.

The teeth of the trap had deeply bitten into the elf´s felsh. It was obvious that Legolas had not kept perfectly still after receiving the injury, for his leg had been torn completely open in several places. The strength of the tarp´s jaw had been enough to even shatter the bone, leaving white fragments to jut out of the wound. Bits of his leather leggings had been uplled into the flesh, too deeply to try and retrieve them now.

The surrounding areas on the elf´s leg were affected as well and hot to the touch. Estel suspected that the wound was heavily inflamed, and he had not forgotten Legolas´ warning about poison.

"By the Valar", the boy whispered. "What is the remedy for all that?"

Suddenly, his stomach violently contracted and he turned away just in time in order not to be sick all over his friend. When the spasms finally eased, Estel heard a growl.

Very, very slowly he raised himself onto his knees and peered into the darkness. At first he saw nothing, but then a shadow streaked over the glade, followed by a second, and a third. Eyes glowed in the darkness. The wolves had returned.

For long moments the boy was frozen in fear. The animals snarled at each other over the carcasses that lay hidden in shadows and Estel heard them rip flesh apart. "Our defences hold", he murmured to himself. "They hold. They will hold."

Next to him, Legolas began to stir and groan in pain, prompting the boy into action. He knew that he did not stand a chance to heal the injury, but he had to somehow keep the elf still. There was no doubting that Legolas´ had terribly aggravated his injury when he had pulled Estel back from the glade and he was certain that the prince would not become lucid any time soon. There would be no calming him with words and reasoning.

With trembling fingers the boy opened his travelling pack. At his father´s insistence, neither him nor his brothers ever so much as left the house without a carefully selected array of healing supplies. Estel had often scoffed at such over-protectiveness, claiming that a short ride would certainly not end in surgery. Today he was thankful for his father´s foresight.

Quickly, the human pulled out the pouch that contained dried herbs. He knew how to create a powerful sleeping draught and selected the components without hesitation. A small tripod was also part of the supplies. Estel expertly set it up and hung a tiny pot to it, heating water above the fire.

Now it was time to crush the herbs in the mortar, and the boy faltered. How strong should the potion be? It was a delictae choice, he knew. If he made the mixture too weak it would not work. Legolas would continue to feel his pain and he would very likely draw the attention of the wolves to them. But if he made the drink too strong, it could worsen his friend´s condition, pulling him under so deeply that it would be difficult to rise to consciousness again.

Some of the wolves had begun to circle them. Estel could see them clearly just behind the fires, prowling, their noses sniffing the scent of fresh blood. The boy suspected that they were the lowest ranks of the pack, for he could still hear the others eating their share of the horse and the deer.

"They are afraid of the fire", he tried to encourage himself. "They are wild animals, not killers." And they are obviously hungry, his mind supplied, but he did not say so out loud. Instead, he pondered his potion again, but the movements of the wolves were always at the back of his mind.

Finally, with the water already boiling, his elected the herbs and ground them.. Hesitation would not get the task done.

It took not long for the draught to cool. Estel used the time and tried to rouse the elf at least a little. He did not trust himself to feed him the potion while unconscious, too afraid to choke him.

To the boy´s surprise, he managed to wake Legolas a little too well. After long moments of gentle prodding, the elf suddenly bolted upright, his eyes wide open. He looked at the human in obvious confusion, then glanced around him in an attempt to understand what was happening. He caught sight of the wolves and vainly tried to rise.

Estel grabbed his arm, trying to keep him down. "No, stay still. You will only make it worse."

Legolas turned burning eyes on him. "My injury will count nothing when the wolves rip us to pieces. We shall deal with it later." He saw his knife on the ground and failed in his first attempt to pick it up. Shaking his head as if to clear cobwebs from his mind, he reached for it again and succeeded.

Estel´s mind raced. He feared that any attempt of the elf to fight might kill him, even without any involvement of the wolves, which grew more restless now that there was such a a lot of movement in the small camp.

Thinking fast, Estel grabbed the elf´s arm again and forced him to lock eyes. "I knew you would be weakened by the injury", he said breathlessly. "I made a potion to strengthen you. Drink quickly before the wolves attack."

He held up the cup imploringly, praying that the elf would fall for the ruse. Under normal circumstances he would have certainly not fooled the prince, but the elf´s senses were obviously impaired. He looked at the cup blankly for a moment, but when Estel urged him to drink he did.

The boy breathed a sigh of relief. "Now just wait a moment for it to work", he said. Almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth Legolas toppled over sideways, dropping the knife. Estel was so surprised by the quick reaction that he failed to catch his friend, who sank to the gound in a heap.

There was no time for Estel to even contemplate his success, for at this very moment a wolf leapt over their protective ring of fire. Estel cried and jumped up, his instinct to flee making him run before his mind could object.

Not for long though. Looking over his shoulder, Estel saw the wolf cautiously approach Legolas. The elf lay totally motionless, but the wolf seemed to sense he was still alive and whether from experience with elves or simply instinct, he hesitated to attack.

A sudden fury came over Estel, one like he had never experienced before. He snatched up a branch, dipped it into one of the fires and ran at the wolf, shouting his lungs out. The animal ducked when the fire came swinging at it and jumped back into the shadows, snarling angrily.

"You leave him alone!" the boy screamed. "I just stopped his bleeding. I just managed to put him to sleep. You will not kill him now, you son of a demon!"

The wolf crouched low, his eyes steadily following the burning branch that Estel swung back and forth to protect both himself and the injured elf. Calculating. Cunning. Waiting.

The stare unnerved the boy, and his attention slipped. The grip on the branch loosened, and when he swung it to the side again the momentum ripped it out of his hand, sending it flying.

The wolf jumped once more.

Estel instinctively turned his face away and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the impact. But it never came.

Instead, he felt an arrow whizz past him and heard the dull thud of a heavy body hitting the ground. Shouts filled the glade and hooves thumped the wet earth.

"Stay back, there are traps, there are traps!" Estel shouted almost hyterically. He heard elven voices yell at the wolves, heard more arrows, but all of a sudden the commotion was over and a pair of strong arms swept him into a tight embrace.

"All is well now", he heard Elrohir´s voice in his ear. "All is well now, do not be afraid."

Estel buried his face in his brothers shoulder and after one or two breaths he started crying so hard that he thought the sobs would rip him apart from the inside. He tried to stop but he could not. He tried to explain that Legolas was hurt and needed help but no comprehensible word came out of his mouth.

Elrohir simply held him and rocked him like a small child. Estel did not mind. He did not care. All he wanted to do was go home and be gone from this place. He closed his eyes and tried to shut out the world with all its troubles.

/

"Better now?" The gentle question drew Estel back into the glade. He was surprised to sit on the gound, leaning against the younger twin´s chest. A blanket was tightly wrapped around him. A few paces away he could see three horses, Alagos among them, stand quiet guard. The other two belonged to his twin brothers.

There was no sign of the wolves.

Elrohir still had his arms around the boy as if attemting to keep him in once piece. "Better now?" he asked again, and Estel managed to nod his head this time."Good!" There was a smile in the elf´s voice. "My arms were beginning to grow tired from all the rocking. You are not as light as you used to be."

To his surprise, Estel felt a small smile of his own form at the jibe, but it quickly disappeared with the memory of what had happened. He turned in his brother´s arms, trying to look over his shoulder. "Where is Legolas? How is he?"

Behind them, Elladan crouched beside the elven prince, quietly examining him. The injured elf had not moved from where he had collpased after drinking the boy´s potion.

The older twin looked up and smiled at the boy, but he could not hide the dark worry in his eyes. "It is good to see you, little brother." He inclined his head in an almost formal acknowledgement. "Your bravery has been exceptional. Never have I seen anyone so young defend the fallen so valiantly."

Estel swallowed. Truth be told, he was not feeling very valiant right now, simply distressed. "Thank you" he said a little awkwardly. "But tell me, how is he?"

Elladan sighed. "Not well, I am afraid, though certainly not as dead as he would have been without your honorable deed. If you can can spare our middle brother, I would be much obliged. I am afraid I require some assistance."

The boy nodded mutely and Elrohir got up with a last reassuring pat to his shoulder. Elladan pointed to the trap that still held Legolas captured. "We need to free him of this devilry. I had hoped we could transport him to father and remove it together, but I see no way to do so without further aggravating his hurts."

Elrohir nodded and gently examined the device. He shook his head in dismay. "Ai, brother, this will be a difficult endeavour indeed. The trap´s jaw must be very strong to have bitten through his bone like that."

The older twin nodded garvely. "You speak my thoughts miundor /brother/. It will need the both of us to pry the trap open." They looked at each other for a long moment, then their combined gaze went to Estel. The boy could sense their hesitation to involve him and for a short moment he yearned to simply turn his head away and wait for them to solve the problem as they always did.

Not this time, however. He gulped but held fast, jutting forward his chin. "What would you have me do?"

The twins bowed their heads in silent appreciation. "We shall need you to pull his leg free", Elrohir explained and went on with a sigh:"Estel, this may be more difficult than it sounds. The pain will be intense. It is very possible that he will fight us, but it needs to be done."

The boy nodded his understanding. "It may help then that I have given him a sleeping potion right before the wolf attacked", he said hopefully. "Maybe that will keep the pain bearable."

Elladan´s head snapped up, his expression suddenly so alarmed that Estel recoiled from him. "Which potion, Estel? What did you give him? Speak quickly, this is important."

The young human shuddered, sudden fear taking hold of him. "Did I make it too strong? I did not mean to. I thought I had gotten it right..." His breath caught as fresh panic seized him. To think that he had felt almost hopeful a few moments ago – it seemed that no good emotion was ever going to stay with him again.

Elrohir was at his side again swiftly. He took his face between his hands and looked at him intently. "Listen, Estel, you did not do anything wrong. Listen!" The boy quietened fearfully, his breath still coming in gasps. "Did you use father´s sleeping draught? The one containing Rhîw-Salab?" The elf´s eyes bore into him with intensity. "Tell us, brother, we need to know."

"Yes", Estel breathed, "yes, I did. Father always said it was the safest one..."

He dimly heard both of his brothers curse. Elladan was hastily rushing towards his horse while Elrohir poured water into the small pot the boy had used to prepare his potion, rinsing it throuroughly.

"What is it?" the young human called out in dismay. "Tell me what is wrong!"

The younger twin did not look up from his task when he answered. "After you had left the other day a group of humans came, bringing two children who had also been wounded in traps such as this one. Father began treating them, giving them a mild form of the potion you made for Legolas." He took a deep breath. "One child died, Estel. He was dead within an hour. Father was still fighting for the other´s life when we left. From what we could gather so far, the poison in the traps is worsened when combined with Rhîw-Salab."

Finally he raised his eyes to look at his brother. "It is not your fault, Estel. You did everything you could. And do not forget that our friend is no mortal child but a very resilient elven prince. We will save him yet. I promise we will attempt anything to do so."

Estel sat back heavily, his thoughts in turmoil as he mutely observed his brothers´ frantic preparations.

He did not question that Legolas was strong, but how much of his strength had been used up in his fight for survival? How much of it was left?

_To be continued..._

Review responses_:_

_A big THANK YOU to all readers and especially the reviewers. It´s alway fun to read your thoughts!_

Horsegirl01: How did you guess things would get worse? This plotbunny is truly evil, I´m afraid... As for Legolas calling Estel young, I also consider Legolas young for an elf but from his perspectice Estel must have been born merely "yesterday" *g*

Pip the Dark Lord of All: Glad you like it so much! There are few things waiting to happen yet...

SnoCat: Here is the help you were waiting for – the twins to the rescue! Unfortunately that does not put things right immediately (but hey, this isn´t a H/C story for nothing...) The reasons for the traps will be revealed at some point, I promise.


	5. Accused

**Accused**

It did not take Estel long to realize what his brothers would be attempting to do. He knew the herbs Elladan was crushing together at blinding speed.

"You want to make him bring up the potion?" he asked. "Did that help the surviving child?"

It was Elrohir who answered him once more. "Very probably so. Draughts need time to spread through the body. When exactly did Legolas drink the potion?"

"Right before the wolf attacked. It must have been mere moments before you arrived on the glade."

"There is hope in that", Elladan said as he passed the mixed herbs to his brother who examined them closely. "As there is in the fact that you stanched the bleeding so expertly." He gave the boy a quick smile. "It was most inventive to use the bowstring. I just wished I had thought to ask you whether you had used a potion. It was a sensible thing to do. I should have paid more attention to the herbs that were scattered on the ground..."

"Do not, Elladan", Elrohir cut in with uncharacteristic vehemence. "Blame is on no-one but the culprits who set up the traps in the first place. Now help me, we cannot afford to lose time to senseless musings."

The older twin gazed at Estel for a moment longer with regret in his eyes, but then his expression hardened and he nodded at his twin. "You approve of the mixture?"

Elrohir poured hot water into a cup. "Aye, it should serve our purpose. Now we need..." He stopped talking abruptly, his head snapping up. Elladan had his hand on his sword already, stepping forward protectively.

Estel looked around in fear, expecting the wolves to return, but there was no sign of the animals. He bit back the questions that burned in his mind, because he recognized that his brothers were listening intently, hearing what his ears could not pick up.

"Humans", Elrohir said finally, "they seem to see the glow of the fires."

"And the path of our horses through the underbrush", Elladan added. He turned towards his brothers, hand still on his weapon, with a look of doubt on his face. "Did you recognize the one voice?"

"Indeed." The younger twin looked as torn as the older one. "His grief has thrown a shawdow on his soul. He might be dangerous."

Both twins gazed at each other, then at Legolas, and came to a decision simultaneously. Without a word, Elladan dropped his hand from the his sword´s hilt and walked towards his injured friend to kneel behind him.

"Estel, go to the horses." He did not look at the boy but carefully hoisted Legolas up to rest his back against his raised leg. "A group of humans will soon come this way. Keep them from interrupting."

The youngest brother sat stunned for a moment, then rose. Maybe the people who came could help them get Legolas to safety, especially if they had a wagon like some human merchants who sometimes visited the Last Homely House. He threw one last look at his brothers who gingerly tried to persuade the injured elf to swallow the drink they had prepared, but then resolutely walked to where Alagos stood waiting.

He felt exhausted yet hopeful that this torment would finally come to an end. He had not quite understood why his brothers seemed to deem one of the approaching humans dangerous, but he was confident that there would not be a conflict.

Lord Elrond kept his house open to the injured and sick of any race, and the boy knew that the twins had often helped protect villages from danger. They where here helping an injured friend, posing a threat to none. What could possibly go wrong?

Soon, even his human ears could hear the snapping branches and loud voices that announced the impending arrival of several men. They sounded excited to the point of fear. Some words began to be understandable and Estel could gather that they expected to find more poisonous traps.

He considered calling out to them, ensuring them that the danger was reduced to the glade. Unsure, he looked back to his brothers, but both elves had their concentration on Legolas. It seemed they had managed to get the herbs into him and were now cautiously waiting for any sign that they were taking effect. Estel knew that throwing up could be very dangerous for the unconscious, that taking swift action would be required once it happened.

He turned away again and came to his own decision. "There are no traps where you are", he called into the forest. The grey light of morning began to creep out of the ground, but he could not see far yet. "Beware of the glade we are in, however. This is where the traps are."

A stunned silence answered him before a voice rose out of the darkness, challenging him. "Who goes there? What do you know of the traps?"

The boy decided that the truth could not be harmful and replied: "We are Lord Elrond´s sons, tending to an injured friend. He is caught in one of the traps. We would appreciate your help."

He could not understand what was being said next, because the men seemed to all talk at once. Then they fell silent. He could still hear the sound of footsteps, but some were growing more distant.

For a while all Estel could do was watch the slowly growing light around him. "Careful, brother", Elladan said under his breath. "It seems we are being surrounded." No sooner had he finished the sentence than a group of men stepped out from under the trees. Two appeared where Estel stood with the horses, the others came up behind Elladan and Elrohir. They had weapons at the ready, and the boy stepped back in surprise when he found an arrow pointing at his face.

"Peace", he said, holding up his hands. "I told you, we mean no harm. We are here tending a wounded friend."

As if to make the point Legolas began to heave behind him, finally ridding his body of what was left of the potion. Estel did not dare turn from the man and his bow, but he heard his brothers talk soothingly to their friend. They showed no reaction to the humans at all.

The man before him looked from the boy to the elves and back, frowning. "What is all this, Botham?" he called out. "You said we would find the poachers here."

"And we did." Another man appeared from the shadows, tall and broad-shouldered. Like the others he wore the rough garments of the villagers that lived in the vicinity of Imladris. He walked with an air of confidence, but something seemed wrong with him, as if he was boiling inside and only barely controlled himself. He swept his arm to encompass the glade.

"Is that not proof enough? Another meadow filled with these deadly devices, and Lord Elrond´s minions right in the middle."

The words sent a bolt of anger through Estel. He gulped in a lungful of air to yell at the man, but he was cut short by Elladan. "Alpedo, Estel." /Don´t speak, Estel./ Despite the words he kept his tone friendly, no doubt to calm the humans around them. He changed into the common tongue and continued: "Well-met, Botham. We are terribly sorry for your loss."

The boy carefully turned, too curious now not to look. He found Elrohir kneeling on the ground with Legolas in his arms, occupied with quieting the injured elf´s rapid breathing and for all the world unconcerned with anything that was going on around him.

Elladan stood in front of the two, his hands raised well away from his weapon. He looked directly at the burly man when he spoke. "We understand your fury at those responsible for your child´s death. We seek to help you find them."

Tears rose to Botham´s eyes but he angrily wiped them away, his expression grim. "I have to search no longer, elf! I see all I need to know right in front of my eyes."

Elladan shook his head. "Why would we want to hurt our own? Why bring down our own horses? Our friend is a victim just like your son was. Let us work together."

"Like my son?" The man spat the words. "My son is dead, dead by your accursed father´s hands. I see that elf still draws breath. It seems that for him you were willing to use the correct remedy!"

Estel felt his heart begin to race. Now he understood what his brothers had talked about earlier. He also understood why they thought Botham so dangerous. It was clear by his words and the wild look in his eyes that there was no reasoning with him.

"But what do we do now?" another man spoke up fearfully. "We found them surrounded by traps, it is true, but the elf has made a valid point. Why should they harm their own kind?"

Botham rounded on the man, spittle flying from his mouth in his fury. "Will you side with them now? Will you side against your own race? I expect that they made a mistake, that is why one of them is hurt. Stepped into his own trap, stupid creature."

Estel saw a flash of fury darken Elladan´s eyes and Elrohir tensed where he crouched on the ground. The boy sensed the twin´s silent communication, something he had never quite been able to understand, then both relaxed at the same time.

"What will you do then?" the older twin asked and took one step towards Botham. "Will you attack us? Do you deem that wise?"

Even though his voice remained even and friendly, a murmur rose from the gathered men and several cautiously stepped backwards. Botham, however, was beyond noticing the silent malice that suddenly emanated the dark-haired elf.

"I say we give Elrond a taste of the grief he brought upon me", the man rasped. "I say we make him feel the loss of his own sons."

Silence spread over the glade. Estel gaped at Elladan, sudden fear spiking in him. He had never seen his brother look the way he did now. It was as if the older twin had summoned a cloud of darkness that began to gather around him, casting a veil over his fair features.

The elf turned his head slowly, deliberately, his gaze piercing as a sword´s tip. Estel sensed him calculating his moves, measuring distances, mentally taking down his foes one by one. His hand very briefly caressed the hilt of his weapon, a graceful gesture that reminded the boy of a large cat flexing its muscles before the pounce.

Elladan glanced at the boy, who shivered, totally aghast at what was happening, and then locked eyes with his twin.

Elrohir had not moved from where he sat, his arms still gently wrapped around Legolas´ still form. His eyes, however, had darkened so much that they looked almost black. His muscles had tensed and he too seemed to see before his inner eyes a battle that had not yet been fought.

Slowly, however, the tension eased from his posture. Very quietly he said: "Consider the cost, brother."

His words seemed to break a spell that had fallen over everyone present, for now a human man also stirred and stepped forward. "Do not be too rash, Botham. Do not forget that my daughter is still in Rivendell, hanging on to life in Lord Elrond´s care. Would you jeapordize her safety?"

Others nodded, seemingly relieved that one amongst them had voiced such a sound objection to a deed none had been quite willing to commit. None but Botham.

The big man stood silently, eyes locked on Elladan. His chest heaved, his arms seemed to burn with the desire to see his plan through, fists balled as if meaning to take on the elf with his bare hands.

Estel was so captivated by the scene that he did not sense the man behind him move until he felt the tip of his arrow at his throat.

"I have a better solution", the archer said quietly. "The elves put down their weapons. They take their injured and we all move out of here quietly and without shedding further blood. Then we see whether his sons in captivity might not persuade Elrond Half-Elven to help us with a little more efficiency."

Estel stood frozen once again, his heart in his throat. He could see pure fury streak across Elladan´s face, changing it completely, but only for a heartbeat. Then the older twin nodded at the archer and very carefully drew his sword, throwing the weapon at Botham´s feet. Behind him, Elrohir followed suit without hesitation.

"Very well, bowman. But if that boy loses a single drop of blood at your hand you will pay it back mayfold." Estel heard the man draw in a sharp breath, but his weapon did not waver.

"I do not mean the child harm", he replied evenly. "I merely wish to ensure your cooperation."

All eyes turned to Botham, waiting for his response. The man looked upon the scene in open disgust and then turned his back. "Have it your way. But watch these creatures closely. I have heard they can bewitch people and turn to ravens at night. I will await you in the village."

He marched off, and everyone breathed a small sigh of relief. "Get to it then", the archer said, having claimed the position of spokesperson. "Our hospitality awaits you."

"We will need some time", Elrohir spoke from the ground. "Our friend´s leg is still caught in the trap. To free him we need to use his knives."

"Please, use them", the human replied. "And I will keep your human child where my arrow can find him. I am sure this arrangement suits everybody´s needs."

"But someone has to help them" Estel said, surprised by how raspy his voice sounded. "Two are needed to open the trap, one to free his leg. Please let me do it. I am sure that you can aim at my back and still be confident to hit your mark."

The archer barked out a laugh. "Brave words, child. So be it, but make haste. The morning moves on and we do not want to be found by another band of elves on the lookout for you, do we?"

On legs that felt strangely boneless Estel walked to his brothers and sank to the ground beside them. He glanced up at them almost timidly, afraid to find their eyes black with hate and anger, but both looked upon him with appreciation.

"Le garo huor di hûn" /Your heart is courageous/ Elladan said quietly. Elrohir nodded and placed his hand on the boy´s shoulder. "Do not worry, Estel. Our remedy seems to have worked. Legolas is breathing much more easily now. I am confident that he will recover, as long as we keep taking good care of him. Let us concentrate on that and not fret about a short captivity."

The brothers set to work, one complementing the other. Elladan retrieved Legolas´ second knife under the watchful eyes of the humans. Then he and Elrohir carefully placed the blades to gain leverage on the trap´s jaws.

"Are you ready, Estel?" Elladan asked. The boy drew in a breath. He knelt next to his friend´s leg. He knew he would have to be swift and never hesitate, no matter the pain he caused, but he felt ready to act his part. At his nod, the twins forced the trap open.

Legolas groaned in agony but did not scream or fight as Estel had feared. Maybe he was merely too exhausted. Quickly, the boy tried to lift his leg free. He grimanced when the flesh refused to part with the metal and pulled harder. Fresh blood covered his fingers, making his grip unsure, but finally he had pulled the limb free.

The twins released the trap and it snapped shut with a vicious hiss.

Behind them, the bowman raised his voice. "That seems to be accomplished then. Quickly, bind his leg and move. I am sure Botham awaits us already."

Estel felt torn between relief and fear. What would happen to them in the village? He could only hope and pray that they would all survive what awaited them there.

_To be continued..._

Thanks for reading and especially reviewing!

Review responses:

Horsegirl01: See, he´s out of the trap now – but unfortunately not free ;)

Annual 123: Glad you like it! I hope you´ll continue to enjoy the story.

SnoCat: Yes, there are no ordinary poachers at work here...*evil grin*


	6. Old Allies

**Old Allies**

The morning turned out to be sunny and warm, birds singing merrily in the trees and bees humming amongst the flowers at the side of the road.

Estel took this in numbly. He felt detached from it all, so exhausted now he could barely keep his eyes open. More than once his head fell forward unbidden, making him sway on Alagos´ back. The horse walked very carefully, avoiding his usual excited jumps, and nickered worridly.

The boy forced his senses alert with an effort and stroked his steed´s neck. "All is well, my friend, do not worry." The tone of his voice served to calm the horse, even though Estel was not sure whether there was any truth to the words.

Beside him, the archer rode silently. He no longer pointed an arrow at the boy but there was no doubt he could do so again in the blink of an eye. He had carefully positioned himself between Estel and the twins, though none of the other humans had been brave enough to do the same to Elladan and Elrohir,

They rode side by side, seemingly relaxed. Elrohir held Legolas in his arms, now and again speaking to him in such a low voice that Estel could not understand what was being said. He could see, however, that the injured elf shivered violently, even though he had been wrapped in both of the twin´s cloaks and the sun´s warmth brought sweat to his own brow.

A fever, his tired mind supplied. Elves should not develop fevers unless severely poisoned. Had Elrohir not been hopeful that the prince´s condition would improve? Estel sighed so deeply that it almost sounded like a suppressed sob. They should not even be here. They should be home, Legolas being tended by their father and all of them out of danger...

His mind must have slipped for a moment, because all of a sudden Estel found himself looking down at Elladan who gently tugged at his arm. "Come off that horse, little brother", the elf said with a small smile. "Alagos does not fit where we have to go." The boy found himself staring back mutely, unable to understand what his brother meant.

The older twin sighed and reached up, pulling his brother into his arms. "I should have traded with Elrohir", he murmured into Estel´s ear. "You grow entirely too heavy to be carried around."

The young human cared little for his brother´s plight. He simply turned his face into the elf´s shoulder and slept.

/

Estel woke slowly to a feeling of creeping cold and the sound of knocking. He pushed himself into a sitting position, groggily looking about.

The room was dim and dank, only a little light seeping in from a high, small window. It was cramped, too, barely fitting himself and the three elves. Elrohir sat next to him, Legolas pulled against his chest, and turned his head to the boy with a small smile.

"They have beautiful guest chambers here, do they not?" he said lightly, but Estel was not fooled by the words. He could see the worry beneath them.

"I tend to disagree, brother" Elladan replied from the door, which he now forcefully knocked against once more. He turned to look at the boy and quietly said: "I am sorry to have woken you, but our hosts seem to have forgotten about a few things and I attempt to remind them."

"It is a pity, really", Elrohir chimed in, "because he made such a nice pillow for you, Estel."

The boy frowned, suddenly angry at his brothers´ tries to cheer him up. He reached over to take Legolas´ hand and almost recoiled at the intense heat he encountered.

The younger twin´s voice turned serious. "The fever was to be expected, Estel. His body fights the poison that the trap infected him with."

"And very probably the effects of exposure", Estel added grimly, "and shock. And sorrow for his horse."

His anger growing, he rounded on Elrohir. "He should not be here, but home in father´s care. Why did you not fight when you had the chance? I heard so many stories of heroics about you, but now we are taken captive by mere villagers?" He sensed that his words were unfair but could not stop them from pouring from his mouth.

Elrohir sighed, his eyes seeking out Elladan, and then turned back to the boy. "I assure you that Legolas´ life is in no danger at the moment, Estel. I also wished I could help him more effectively but I have no doubt that he could even get through this on his own now that the trap has been removed."

"Has he not been on his own enough?" Estel felt tears rise to his eyes, suddenly realizing for just how long their friend had been left on the glade to face this peril alone.

"We are here for him now" Elladan spoke up from the door, his voice more stern than his twin´s had been. "I agree that Imladris would be a much better place for his recovery, but that cannot be helped right now."

"Not helped by you? Why not? What if these people decide to kill us in their folly, will you be unable to help that, too?"

The older twin´s eyes darkened dangerously, and even though the boy clearly sensed that the elf´s fury was not directed against him, the sight served to sober him up, deflating his anger.

"No-one shall kill any of us, Estel. You have my word."

"But you have no weapons now! Why did you not fight when you were still armed?" He could not help but repeat his earlier question. The longer he thought about it, the less he could understand what had happened in the glade. He had felt the force that had surrounded the twins, had sensed the impeding danger and the gathering strength that could have freed them all.

"Weapons?" Elladan gave a chuckle that sent chills down the boys´s spine. "This is no horde of orcs, little brother. Nor an army of wild Easterlings. These are untrained villagers."

Elrohir shook his head at his twin. Estel looked back and forth between them, suddenly even more cold than could be attributed to the cellar they were locked in.

"You could kill these people without weapons?" he breathed, hardly able to fathom how such a deed could even be accomplished. The images that arose in front of his inner eye made him swallow.

Elrohir reached over and took his hand, pulling him back to the here and now. "All you need to know is that you are safe with us, brother. And so is Legolas. No further harm will befall you in our presence."

He paused, once again exchanging glances with his twin. Abruptly, Elladan turned back to the door and began pounding on it again.

Elrohir, however, spoke to the boy in a soft voice. "You wish to know whether we could have defeated the band of men in the glade, Estel? Aye, we could have. But ask yourself what the cost would have been."

Etsel was confused. "You mean that the men could have been injured? But they were the ones threatening us! We did not do anything to conjure up such hate."

"No, we did not. But someone did, someone who hurt these humans and Legolas as well. If we allow ourselves to be pitted against each other, we only serve those who committed this devilry."

He sighed. "What if we had killed some of the men, Estel? We could not have guaranteed keeping them alive. A battle follows its own rules, and both you and Legolas were defenseless. Neither Elladan nor I would have taken any chances had either of you been so much as approached in battle. We would have killed to keep you alive. Now think about the consequences. How would the people in the villages have reacted to that? We could not risk them seeing us as vengeful demons."

The boy threw up his hands. "But Ada helps them. We all help them. How many stories have I heard about you riding out to stand at the humans´ side in times of danger?"

Elrohir smiled ruefully. "All you say is true, Estel, but much lies so far in the past that few humans still remember. Time flies in these villages, little brother. It is so easy to turn from an ally to a legend."

Estel was at a loss what to say. He could understand his brothers´ reasoning now but at the same time he felt chilled at the extent of their obvious abilities. He would have never expected them to this efficient, this calculating when it came to killing. Yet on the other hand, how else should they have achieved the victories he had heard so many songs about? Slaying the enemy sounded a simple act of agility and strength in the tales, but he began to understand that there was much more to it. That there was a price to be paid.

His musings were cut short by a gruff voice that finally responded to Elladan´s pounding. "Will you stop the racket? What do you want?" The voice did not come from in front of the door but from the direction of the small window.

Elladan turned and called upwards: "We have not been given our supplies yet. Please be so kind, our injured friend needs them."

"And have you brew up some potion?" the disembodied voice scoffed. "Nay, elves, be happy that you still have heads on your necks. If I give you your magic items, maybe we´ll find a pack of wrags when we open the door. Or you´ll turn into birds and fly away. You will have to make do with what you have."

The man turned and walked away, muttering to himself about the dangers of keeping the elves alive in the first place.

The older twin´s face was a tightly controlled mask. "So much for their hospitality", he murmured, then knelt next to Elrohir to have a close look at Legolas. "What do you say, brother? Will he endure for a little while longer without our supplies?"

Estel scooted over to look for himself, but also to be sure not to miss a word the twins exchanged. He knew now that the answer to this question could have serious consequences.

"There is little we can do in any case", the younger twin replied softly. "I would prefer to make him more comfortable and provide a better protection from the cold." He made a gesture to encompass their prison. "He is weakened enough to suffer from these surroundings. Other than that, we have to allow the fever to run its course. In a few hours we may know more. If his condition worsens…" He trailed off.

Elladan simply nodded. "Very well. So we wait."

He settled back against the cold wall and looked at the boy with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Do you need a cushion again, little brother?"

Estel tore his eyes from his injured friend and sat down between his brothers. "Not now, though I would love to have a nice comfortable bed. If they brought our supplies, could just conjure it up?" He could not help but grin then. "The people here seem to consider you able to do almost anything with a few healing herbs."

Elladan smiled in return. "It seems our reputation has grown quite out of proportion. When did we last spend time in this particular area, brother?"

Elrohir considered for a moment. "That would have been almost sixty years past, during the wolf-winter. I remember many honorable men who fought at our side then, protecting their families. We received quite a different welcome in those days."

"So easily forgotten." The older twin shook his head in dismay. They grew quiet, each of them following their own thoughts while they waited for a change to come.

/

Estel had drifted back into a fitful slumber when he was yet again awakened by Elladan, who gently shook his shoulder. "Someone approaches", he said quietly and pointed towards the door.

A moment later the boy also heard the steps. They were halting and shuffled, accompanied by wheezing breaths. The brothers glanced at each other with raised eyebrows but remained silent.

Finally, a small knock could be heard and a frail voice asked: "May I dare ask the question who has been locked into this cellar?"

To Estel´s surprise, the twins simultaneously broke into smiles. "Not so easily forgotten after all", Elrohir said under his breath. Elladan nodded, then replied: "Elladan, Elrohir and Estel, sons of Elrond, as well as a Legolas of Mirwood." There was a pause before he continued: "It is well to hear you again, Miran. It has been a while."

A cackling chuckle answered him. "A while and a day, my friends. I could not believe my ears when I heard the story of your capture. I can only bow my head in deep thanks, for I know how close this village has come to losing half of its able men. Able in body that is, not in mind. Stupid goats they were to follow a father in grief. I expect they could have been slain far more easily than the packs of wolves we fought in my youth."

"It is always more difficult to slay a man than a wolf", Elrohir replied, "but I admit that the presence of our young brother and the severe injuries of our friend made us consider any possibility."

"So I gathered." They could hear the man spit in disgust. "Taking advantage of a child and a wounded elf, only to lock all of you in such a pig´s hole... Where has wisdom gone in this place?"

"It seems to be standing in front of this door." Elladan smiled at the laugh this produced.

"Aye, but wisdom with no muscles behind it. Old wisdom with thin bones and few teeth left to bite those who deserve it." He sighed. "I cannot let you out, for I fear that this would only lead to more bloodshed. I will, however, throw your travelling packs down the window in a moment. I hope they contain a few things to help your injured friend. And then I shall seek out Botham and his mindless followers to remind them that they owe the village´s elder some respect."

Miran gave the door a friendly pat, then left, walking with audible effort. True to his word, he soon provided the brothers with their supplies and several blankets. "You shall not stay down there much longer", he called as a good-bye, "even if I have to break down that cellar door myself in the end." He chuckled yet again. "Though that would probably take a week or two."

Still smiling, Elladan and Elrohir set to work. Though unable to conjure up a bed, they manage to turn the blankets into a snug berth for Legolas and even had some left to hand to Estel, who accepted them gladly.

The lack of a fire limited their abilities to use their herbs, but even so they produced a salve to further stem the infection in the inured elf´s leg and provide some relief for this pain. When they were done, the boy was glad to see that a little color had returned to Legolas´ cheeks and his eyes had opened, signaling that he was merely sleeping now.

Elrohir placed his hand on the woodelf´s forehead for a moment and sat back with a satisfied expression on his face. "His fever is subsiding" he informed the others.

"Thank the Valar for small favors", Elladan replied. He was looking up at the small window of their prison. Light was fading as night approached.

"I consider it to be a big favor that Legolas will soon be well again", Estel said excitedly. "And your old friend will help us flee. And father is probably on his way here already."

Elrohir grinned a little ruefully. "It is good to see your spirits up, Estel, though things might be just a little more complicated than that. We will soon have to do something about setting that leg, for example. And Miran will not be able to simply spring us from this cell."

He patted the boy´s arm reassuringly. "But I am sure father long knows where we are and plots some help to be sent our way. He knew where we went to get you, after all, and the tracks we left on the way here were broad enough to be followed by a dwarf. It will not…"

He was interrupted by loud voices that drew closer. Botham could easily be identified, repeatedly yelling: "I object to the offspring of my son´s killer being treated like guests in this village! They will poison us all! Slay us in our beds! Turn to wolves and rip out our throats!"

Elladan turned to his brothers with a gleam in his eyes. "It seems that things are finally improving after all."

_To be continued_

To all who said they don´t get a break – here you go. A break of sorts, but not for long *g* Thanks for reading and your delightful reviews.

**Review responses:**

Mirkwood Warrior: Thank you! And you are quite correct, more things are going to happen…

Annual123: Happy you still like it Please keep reviewing.

Snow-Glory: I hope you could live with the break (and I don´t mean Legolas´ leg…)– more troubles are coming, don´t worry.

ShimmeringWater: Thanks a lot *blushes* The characters are pretty much acting on their own though, all I need to do is write fast enough to keep up.

SnoCat: You are very welcome. This story really wants to be written, I usually don´t update quite this fast but I cannot help it right now


	7. Meetings and Mendings

**Meetings and Mendings**

As it turned out, the whole village had come to the make-shift prison. Estel and the elves were released by men holding daggers, and once they had climbed the stairs and left the abandoned building whose cellar they had been kept in, several archers pointed their arrows at them.

The boy looked at the scene with what he hoped was a neutral expression. His heart was in his throat. To his left Elladan stood silently, emanating a calm strength that reassured the young human. Elrohir was at his right, once again holding Legolas in his arms. The wounded elf was deeply asleep and failed to show any reaction to what was going on around them. His head rested on the younger twin´s shoulder, the flickering lights of the villagers´ torches reflecting in his glazed eyes.

Estel heard whispers erupt on the prince´s account because several humans considered him dead. He could not help his lip curl in derision. If they did not even understand the most basic truths about elves, how could they deem themselves wise enough to accuse them of anything?

A man in a dark cloak approached them. Behind him stood the archer who had guarded Estel on their ride to the village. Once again he had an arrow nocked and ready, only this time he aimed the weapon at Legolas and Elrohir. The boy bristled silently. Elladan seemed to sense his feelings, placing a warning hand on his shoulder before he stepped forward to await what the man in cloak meant to tell them.

"My name is Breeth" ,the human stated without preamble, "I am the spokesman of this village. I must apologize for the way you were treated..."

"They are the poachers!" Botham´s voice was unmistakable, though he had wisely been pushed towards the back of the crowd. "They are Lord Elrond´s minions! Their traps have killed my boy." Several voices rose in agreement, but before the noise could grow, Breeth turned and called loudly: "You will get your chance to speak, Botham! Now stop stirring up unrest or things may just turn ugly for you tonight."

There was some commotion, then a few men could be seen angrily walking away, Botham among them.

Breeth turned to the prisoners again. "As I have said, my apologies. I was unaware that there was a young boy with you. Neither did I know that one of you was hurt..." He trailed off, suddenly unsure. "I trust that he is well?"

Estel couldn´t quite keep himself from snorting at such a blatantly silly remark. He also doubted that anyone in the village had missed their arrival.

Elladan kept his tone even. "Greetings to you, Breeth. I thank you for considering the well-being of my human brother and our friend who, as you can see, is rather unwell. He was gravely wounded by the same poachers who caused you so much grief."

Murmurs stirred at that and Breeth looked decidedly uncomfortable. "I was told that you were found surrounded by traps and that there were other indications that you were indeed the culprits. We have decided to hold a village meeting tomorrow to decide which steps to take. Until then, our elder Miran has offered you the hospitality of his home. Will you agree to go there without resistance and await our news?"

The nervousness in his voice had intensified, and Estel could feel the tension rise around him. He wondered how such a big crowd of people could be so scared of them, especially because it was clear that there was only one true opponent standing in their midst. Then again, this opponent was his eldest brother.

Elladan took his time answering, but then he bowed his head slightly. "It is not our wish to shed more blood. We have always strived to serve your community and help you in times of need. This has not changed. If you so wish, we will help you find the poachers and bring them to justice. For tonight, we gladly accept Miran´s gracious offer."

Multiple breaths were being released around them. "Good", Breeth said, looking like a burden had been lifted off him. Miran appeared at his side, grinning happily. The spokesman raised his voice again. "I take it that you understand our need to guard you on the way there and also during your stay?"

Elladan smiled a rather feral smile. "Do what you must to feel save from us", he replied, "though there truly is no need." He nodded at Miran, ready to move on.

They walked through the darkened village in a strange procession, Miran in front, followed by the prisoners who were in turn flanked by those humans brave enough to get close to them. The rest of the villagers followed at a distance.

Estel could see children peering at him from behind their parents´ backs with eyes that were both fearful and curious. He felt strangely detached from them, belonging to his brothers rather than these fellow humans who seemed to consider him little more than an oddity.

"Here we are", Miran announced finally, a little out of breath but with an air of pride. They stood in front of a cottage that could not contain more than two rooms. A small but impeccably kept garden surrounded the building and soft yellow light streamed from the windows in a most welcoming fashion.

The boy had barely taken all of this in when the door opened to reveal a woman who was several inches shorter than himself. Her rounded figure was dressed in plain brown garments. However, there was nothing ordinary about her features, which were wrinkled like an old apple and possessed two keen dark eyes that belied her age. As Miran walked past her he gave her a little peck on the cheek.

She smiled broadly at them all, then addressed Elrohir who stood waiting before her. "Now do not just stand there, young lord, come on in, come on in. It is time to give that poor creature in your arms a proper bed to rest in."

She ushered the twins into her house and then surprised Estel by giving him a warm hug. "Aye, what a fine young lad!" she exclaimed, holding him at arm´s length. "I am truly sorry for the poor welcome you received in this place. And you…" she raised her voice to be heard by her fellow villagers, "You should turn red and blue with shame! Consider what you have done today. You have insulted Lord Elrond´s sons, who have saved your families from tragedy not too long ago. Have all of you forgotten? Are the stories no longer told by the fireside? And to make bad matters worse, you have kept them from taking proper care of somebody gravely injured. Such heartlessness should have you beg the Valars´ forgiveness!"

Uncomfortable murmurs arose in reaction to her flaming speech, but the stout woman was not done yet. "And you did not even stop at that. You forced a young boy into captivity as well, even though not even the most thick-headed amongst you could seriously consider him a poacher. What would you say if your children were treated like that? Now go home and mend on your ways!"

Estel´s ears had turned red at being displayed as a helpless child, but he was rewarded by the way most villagers hung their heads and slowly walked away like pupils chastened by their teacher. Some remained though, gloomily staring at the woman and the house, and as decided earlier, armed men took their position around the building.

The woman gave them a dark look that would have put Estel´s adopted father to shame and then brusquely turned, taking the boy into the house with her.

Inside, a merry fire warmed a room that served as a kitchen and a small living room. Elladan had spread several blankets on the ground and Elrohir was gingerly lowering Legolas onto them, careful not to jostle his leg.

Miran stood beside them with a slightly sheepish expression on his face. "I tried, Meila, but they would not accept using our bed."

The woman shook her head in disbelief. "I do not mean to add further insult to what has been done to you already, my lords, but do you wish to shame me? I have housed the injured for many years, and none has ever been forced to camp on the floor like a dog."

Elladan rose and bowed to Meila. "Forgive us, mistress. We had no wish to make you angry, but we would be very thankful for your permission to stay in this room. Access to the fire will make it much easier for us to tend to our friend´s injuries." The woman stared at him, seeming to search his polite answer for any way to disprove him, but then allowed herself a smile.

"Very well, if you so wish. Miran, go and fetch the extra pillows from the back at least. And you…" she addressed Estel, "go and sit by the table, lad. I have prepared a small supper. It is not much but it will have to do for now." No sooner had she uttered the words than Estel´s stomach growled its loud approval. "Go on, go on and help yourself", she laughed, "no need to wait for anyone to join you. Table manners shall be sacrificed to practical needs in this house tonight."

The boy happily complied. The bread and butter tasted better than anything he could remember, as did the fresh warm milk.

"Do not eat too hastily", Elrohir warned while he gently cut the bandages from Legolas´ leg, "you have not had anything in a long time. You will make yourself sick." Estel grumbled but tried to slow his pace.

In the meantime, Meila had sat down by Legolas´ head, well out of the twins´ way who were carefully cleaning the prince´s wound, and watched intently. Estel noted how she took everything in, how her eyes lingered on the elf´s chest to monitor his breathing, how she gently placed the back of her hand against his cheek. When the twins were about to apply the healing salve anew, she held up her hand.

"If I may", she asked, then leaned over to look at the injury, shaking her head in dismay after only a short while. "I sorely hope that what is being said about elvish healing abilities is true. A human with this injury would never walk again."

Elrohir smiled reassuringly. "It is kind of you to worry, but if all goes well, he will be up and about in little more than a week."

"A week?!" she exclaimed. "That is truly astonishing."

"On crutches, of course, and only if we manage to set the bones and keep further infections at bay", Elladan cautioned. His twin shrugged with a small grin. "As I said, if all goes well. We have seen this one through far worse, have we not?"

Elladan nodded, clearly not in the mood to elaborate. Meila seemed to have seen enough for she got up from the floor with a little difficulty, groaning as her back creaked. "In any case, elf or not, I can tell he is famished. He has probably not eaten in far longer than our young friend at the table. I still have all I need for a nice strong chicken broth. It will do him a world of good once he awakes." Not waiting for anyone to reply, she began working at the hearth.

From the back of the building they could hear Miran mumbling to himself, still in search of the pillows he had been told to fetch. "In the left cupboard, husband!" Meila called, shaking her head with a small smile.

The twins sat down beside Legolas, their backs to the wall. Estel could see that they were about to use the general activity for a silent conversation, so he immediately grabbed the piece of bread he had been chewing on and joined them. He was not about to miss any of their planning.

Elladan raised an eyebrow at the obvious intrusion but the boy spoke quickly. "I can help you!"

"Doing what exactly?" Elrohir asked.

Estel took a deep breath. Thinking fast, he replied: "I wager that first you will decide when to set Legolas´ leg. I would say if he sleeps well and is coherent tomorrow it is best be done right away. Meila seems to have some healing experience, so mayhap she can help with the preparations."

The twins regarded him silently, so he simply went on. "And then you will have to find a save way out of here..." This was where his momentum left him and he fell silent, feeling color rise to his cheeks.

"What say you, brother?" Elladan asked.

"I say he has a sharp mind for a human child, though his manners need some coaching", Elrohir answered. "I whole-heartedly agree with what he said about our wounded friend. As for further plans, I cannot make any suggestions yet. We will have to wait what the new day brings."

The twins scooted apart, making room between them for Estel to sit before Elladan continued. "I agree with the both of you. With any luck they will hear us at their meeting tomorrow. I hope and pray that most of the villagers have not fallen into Botham´s madness. Their agreement to allow us better lodgings is a hopeful sign."

Elrohir nodded thoughtfully. "No matter whom they hear or what they decide, it would be best if Legolas had been taken care of by the time they make their choice. There is no telling whether we will have the opportunity and peace to concentrate on such a delicate treatment again anytime soon."

Estel had been looking back and forth between his brothers, proud to have been silently accepted into their council, but their words stirred fresh fear in his heart.

"You expect them to attack us tomorrow?" he asked nervously. "Maybe it would be best for me to try and slip out of here to get..."

Elladan held up his hand to silence the boy. "No brother. Running before there has been any decision will only play into Botham´s hand. Should Elrohir and I have to take any action, we need you to look after Legolas. It is a task not to be taken lightly."

Estel nodded, a cold knot forming in his heart. The younger twin placed an arm around his shoulder. "Do not worry too much, Estel. Remember how much better we are off now than last night in the glade."

"Yes", Elladan chimed in, adding his arm from the other side. "And to think that you are now on your first adventure with us – was that not what you desired?"

"Adventure?" Estel asked in a confused voice.

Elrohir shrugged. "Saving a friend, fighting wolves, trying to see justice done… Is it different from what you had expected?"

"Yes", the boy replied with a yawn. "It is much more terrifying and exhausting." His eyes drifted shut, and the last thing he heard before he fell asleep were Elladan´s quiet words: "There it is, Estel. The world of those grown beyond childhood."

/

"Draug!" /Wolf!/ The shout had Estel scrambling to his feet, the blankets that had been placed around him falling away from his shoulders. He stood in the grey morning light filtering into the cottage with a thumping heart until the fog of his confusion cleared.

His brothers had either been awake already or much faster to realize what was truly going on, because they were both a Legolas´ side, attempting to keep him on the ground.

"All is well now, the wolves are gone", Elrohir said soothingly. "Look around you, my friend, you are safe."

Legolas´ eyes had lost the glaze of sleep, the alarm on his features slowly melting away, leaving confusion in its wake. Seeing the change, the twins let go of him, but the Elrohir kept a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"When…" The wounded elf´s voice faltered and Estel quickly turned to get some water for him. "Right before you would have died", Elladan answered the question. "Is that not our accustomed time to arrive at your side?"

The wood-elf´s gaze had cleared considerably and after a small sip of water, so had his voice. "You were late", he rasped. "Had to send Estel in first."

The younger twin shrugged with a grin. "He is of the house of Elrond, too, so he counts aswell. It was his turn to save your hide."

"He saved mine, too", the boy filled in. He wondered whether all the jibes at his expense would not make his friend feel even worse. Awake though he was, pain was etched into his features and his breaths had become rather uneven.

Elladan was busy at the fire, warming a liquid over the flames, and said over his shoulder: "Help me recall, my friend, has Arwen ever had the honor of keeping you among the living? If not, we may have to summon her home at some point or she will feel left out."

A grin tugged at Legolas´ lips but he remained quiet, leaving the answer to Elrohir. "I seem to recall an incident by the river", the dark-haired elf replied. "It involved Legolas hitting his head…"

"Nay, that was you", the prince interrupted. "I wonder whether the bump you received…" He had to pause to draw in a sharp breath, but then continued"…left your memory impaired."

"My memory is fully intact", the older twin grinned, returning to his friend´s side. Elrohir had carefully lifted him into a sitting position and now helped him sip from the cup Elladan had given him. "Both of you went under, and I had to save you. Which means our dear sister still needs to prove that she is capable of such a deed."

"I will try to provide her with the opportunity", Legolas replied with a sigh. Estel could see that whatever his brothers had given him was easing his pains. "But maybe not too soon."

Elrohir gently eased the prince back down. "I would appreciate that. Now, we will let you rest awhile before we see to your leg. And then there is the delicious broth that our hostess has prepared for you last night."

Estel felt the tension from his abrupt awakening finally recede. He stepped to the window and opened it, allowing fresh air to sweep into the room. A new day was dawning and he prayed that it would bring them good news.

_To be continued…_

Another rather quiet chapter – the next one may have a little more bloodshed in it *g* Thank you for reading and reviewing!

Review responses:

Mirwood Warrior: Thanks! I hope you liked this one, too.

Horsegirl01: I promise the leg will be seen to next chapter. I wonder why you think that the worst is yet to come... *looks innocent*

SnoCat: No worries, reviewing is not a race – I´m very thankful to anyone who does leave a review, they are such a pleasure to read. About Miran, yes, he´s good for them. The question is whether they are good for him...


	8. The Cost of Loyalty

**The Cost of Loyalty**

"What a delightful sight" Meila exclaimed as she beamed down at Legolas. The woodelf sat propped up on the pillows Miran had brought them the night before and very slowly ate some of her broth.

Elrohir kneeled beside him, watching him cautiously, while Elladan sat at the table to sort through their healing supplies.

Estel could tell that the prince´s stomach was not resting easy with even this little sustenance and that his friend would have long stopped eating at Elrohir not prodded him along, but he still smiled at the woman and replied: "What a delightful taste, I would say. I owe you my thanks."

Meila waved the thanks away, but the boy could tell she was pleased. "It is nothing, young Lord. You just rest and take it easy." She turned to the boy. "Miran asks you to assist him in the stable. We decided to offer your horses hospitality as well, and he is no longer used to such hard work. His old bones creak and groan, I´m afraid." She chuckled fondly.

Estel nodded and ran for the door. The sight of Legolas conscious and relatively well had flooded him with fresh energy and he was grateful for the chance to put it to good use.

His mood was dampened the moment he opened the back door, for several arrows were immediately pointed at him by the guards around the house. The boy had to admit that he had completely forgotten about them.

He raised his hands and slowed his steps, silently slipping into the small stable behind the house.

Alagos greeted him with a loud neigh and a stomp of his hoof. "I´m happy to see you too, my friend." He took a moment to stroke his steed´s soft fur, then he set to work . Miran leaned on his fork and wiped sweat off his brow.

"It is most gracious of you to help me, my boy", he said. "I do not understand how caring for a few horses can be so exhausting." He chuckled a bit ruefully. "Maybe my bones believe that over 80 years of service should have earned them a rest."

"It is the least I can do", Estel replied with honest gratefulness. "Without you Legolas would have never recovered so fast." He glanced outside at the armed men as he worked. "I am truly sorry that you seem to be in danger on our behalf."

To his surprise this comment earned him a loud laugh. "Danger? Ah, boy, at my age, anthing poses a danger. I could stumble and fall walking out of my house. I could choke on a piece of apple. Does that mean I sit by the fire and sip broth?" He shook his head. "Life is dangerous from beginning to end, young friend, and death will come to all of us. I have long since decided that I shall not look over my shoulder all the time, waiting for it, but rather do what I judge right."

They worked in silence for a while. With the horses taken care of, the old man and the boy returned to the kitchen for something to eat. Estel was startled to find that Legolas once again slept with his eyes closed, and his alarm must have shown on his face because Elrohir said: "Peace, Estel. All is well. I have merely given him a strong potion to put him to sleep. Elladan and I shall set his bone soon."

The boy nodded, his sudden fear subsiding only slowly. It had been heartening to see Legolas so lucid, and that he had to go through even more pain after such a short respite saddened him.

"Ah, healing needs to be done." Miran got up from the table. "I have never had the stomach for all the blood involved." Meila snorted from the fire were she was carefully cauterizing several knives. "So true, though he could stomach fighting wolves well enough", she replied not without pride. "And if the need was dire, I could even use him as a passable nurse. Today, however, it would be best to have you gone from under our feet."

Miran chuckled as he gave his wife a kiss. "Throwing me out of my own home, woman? Very well, I know which battles are a lost cause. I shall go for a walk. There are a few things I need to do anyway, a few people I want to talk to before today´s meeting. I will pray for the Valar to guide your hands."

With that and a slight nod, he left the house. "The knives are ready", Meila pronounced as soon as he was gone."

Estel felt a knot rise in his chest but still forced himself to ask: "Is there anything I can do?" He expected his brothers to hesitate, because he had not yet been allowed to assist with a surgery as complex as this, but Elladan answered him right away. "Of course, brother. We need to make use of all capable healers in this house. Meila agreed to hand us the supplies we need and Elrohir and I shall set the bone. We would ask you to sit by his head and monitor him closely. If you see any change in him, you need to let us know."

The boy nodded and sat down Legolas´ side, placing a hand on his brow. He knew that finding the correct sedation was difficult even for the most skilled of healers and prayed that Elrohir had not erred.

He need not have worried. The twins worked in concentrated precision, opening the wound to offer them some room and then gingerly setting the bone. Meila did not flinch from the blood but kept handing the dark-haired elves fresh rags, desposing of the bloody ones, and kept clean knives ready for as long as they were needed.

Legolas did not stir once through the proceedings, even though his breathing grew faster as the time went on. "He is doing well" Elrohir said quietly when his youngest brother alerted him to the fact, "and we are almost done." He smiled at Estel."I am glad we have you here to help."

Only a short time later the wounded elf´s leg was tighly bound, a splint holding the bone in place. The twins and Meila had washed their hands and were regarding him critically. "As long as he does not jostle his leg around it should heal well now", Elladan said. "I just wished we had more Naursalab."

Estel understood what his brother was talking about. The powerful herb was used to battle infections, and the twins had used up their supply by now.

"Maybe someone in the village has some", he said hopefully, "I know how to apply it."

Elrohir smiled. "That is a good thought. We will have to find some later. For now, Legolas still has enough of it in his system to be safe, I hope."

The younger twin settled down beside his unconscious friend and lightly put one hand on his chest to monitor his breathing, the way it was always done after surgery. He could not quite hide a grin when Estel settled on the prince´s other side, doing the same, but did not comment.

They grew quiet, resting and keeping watch over Legolas, until at some point after midday heavy steps approached the door.

"Miran!" a rough voice called. "Bring the elves and come. The meeting begins."

The brothers exchanged a look. Estel had long since wondered why the old man had not returned home yet, and now his curiosity was fast turning to worry. Meila rose, her face not betraying any emotion, and went for the door. She had not yet reached it when a heavy hand pounded against it, making Legolas flinch.

The stout woman opened the door with a deep frown on her face. "You will remember your manners, young man! There are wounded in this house."

The bearded villager, armed as he was, stepped back and lowered his head. "Beg your pardon , Meila. But tell Miran to make haste. He is expected, and Botham already rallies his followers. Heated words are being exchanged as we speak."

The woman squared her shoulders. "In that case, I will go with you in Miran´s stead. He has left to run some errants and has not yet returned." Her words drew gasps from the men outside. "But he promised to speak on the elves´ behalf", one voice called out. "He is the only one who truly knows them from way back."

"The only one but me", Meila said calmly. "Do not forget that he was my husband already during that fateful winter. I remember was transpired well enough. Let us leave."

The bearded villager hesitated, then seemed to relent but still said: "Very well, Meila, but bring the elves. All three. The boy may remain here, as the house continues to be guarded."

"All three?" Meila bristled, her eyes sprakling. "Are you all out of your minds? What has befallen our menfolk of late?" She threw up her hands and then stepped forward, forcing the man to retreat a few steps. "You will not drag any uncosncious patient out of my house, elf or not. He is not well enough to be moved, and you have my word as a healer that he will remain asleep for a least a few more hours."

Her eyes bore into him, challenging him to contradict her. The man looked around at his fellows nervously but finally stepped aside. "Fine then. But the two brothers will come, and I shall have no more discussions now."

Estel´s eyes found those of his brothers. His heart was racing painfully, aware that what might transpire next could well change their situation for the worse. Elladan clasped his shoulder. "We will go with Meila, Estel. Do not worry. Remember that we would never break our promise to you."

"Indeed", Elrohir confirmed. "Stay at Legolas´ side and should he wake, try to get some water into him. Nothing evil shall befall you. I swear."

The boy nodded, fighting back the tears that threatened to rise to his eyes. He kept his chin up and his back straight until Meila and his brothers had left the house, then he slumped down beside his wounded friend and put his head in his hands.

A feeling of foreboding so strong that it was nauseating came over him. Why had Miran not returned? The old man and his wife were the only humans in this village that he felt he could trust, and now Miran had disappeared right when he was needed the most. What if the villagers decided to kill the twins during their council? The two elves were vastly outnumbered. What if they came to slay him and Legolas, too? What if...

His dark musings were interrupted by a sharp call from outside. "Hold! Who rides there?!" Estel picked up his head and wiped tears from his cheeks. He had not even noticed that he had been crying. Maybe Miran had returned after all?

The person who answered the call could not have surprised him more. "My name is Elrond", the soft elven voice replied. "I was told that I might find my sons in the comforts of your hospitality."

Dashing to the window, Estel saw that it was indeed his adopted father who had arrived. He sat upon his horse, bareback and without bridle as was elven custom, and looked as relaxed as if he had ridden into a sunfilled clearing.

Instead of the robes that were his usual attire he wore a simple, loose tunic over his leggings, making it plain for all to see that he bore no arms. At his belt he carried several

pouches of the kind he used for healing supplies. He smiled pleasantly at the armed men that had formed a wide circle around him.

One of the villagers finally found his voice. "Well-met, Lord of Imladris. We did not recognize you."

"That is not your fault", the elf replied kindly, "and no offence has been taken."

The armed man coughed nervously. "Your sons – attend a village meeting, my lord. I would not deem it wise for you to go there, too. It might upset people."

"Understandably. I shall wait here then." Elrond glanced around as if seeing the cottage they stood in front for the first time. "If I may ask, why are you guarding this building? I take it that the meeting is not being held there."

"No", another man answered, his voice far less friendly than the first´s. "That house holds a third elf and a boy. We are here to protect the village from him."

"The elf or the boy?" Erlond asked calmly.

"Both!" the man spat. "Though the boy is young and the elf injured, one never knows what devilry they might conjure up."

"Injured, you say?" The dark-haired elf gracefully dismounted his horse, causing at least ten arrows to be poined his way. He either did not notice or did not care. "Then I shall make good use of the time I spend waiting for my sons´ return. You do not mind?" He purposefully strode for the door. The men looked back and forth amongst each other, at a loss what to do, but eventually refrained from doing anything. Totally unmolested, Elrond entered the cottage.

Estel threw himself around his father´s neck the second the door had closed behind him. "Ah ion-nîn, I am glad to see you!" Strong arms encircled the boy, conveying a feeling of safety and love that almost made him cry all over again.

They stood like this for long moments before Elrond gently disengaged from the boy and held him at arm´s length, looking at him intently. "Are you well, my son? You had me deeply worried when you did not return."

Estel nodded, wiping his eyes. It felt to him like he had not seen his father in at least a month. "I am unhurt, father, but Legolas was caught in one of the poacher´s traps for a week."

"A whole week!" There was pain in Elrond´s words when he sank down beside the injured elf and gently placed a hand on his chest, closing his eyes in concentration. Even though the boy burned to tell him everything, he kept quiet, knowing that his father was assessing the prince´s injuries.

Finally, the elven lord opened his eyes with a sigh but kept his hand where it was. "You took good care of him", he said quietly, "though much sorrow lingers. The week exposed to the elements has weakened him. I can feel a new infection spread from his leg."

The boy made a sound of dismay. "But he was better this morning! Elladan and Elrohir set his leg and..."

"... did so very well", his father finished for him. "I am sorry, my son, I did not mean to upset you so. He is in no immediate danger. I just wished I could take him home to Imladris." He looked thoughfully out of the window where they could hear the armed men discuss amongst themselves, obviously nervous about having allowed Elrond access to the house.

"I fear that more trouble is yet to come. Provoking the villagers by trying to take Legolas with me would do more harm than good, I am afraid. We have a common enemy, of that I am sure, but if we do not manage to show to the villagers that there is nothing to fear from us, we may never defeat him. It has to be a joined effort."

The elf lord came to a decision. "Estel, I do not know how much time we have. I shall try to strengthen Legolas to the best of my abilities. In the meantime, take a quill and paper and write down everything that happened. Make haste, but try not to leave anything out."

He opened one of his pouches, handing the boy what he needed, and then sat down next to Legolas again. He placed one hand on his chest, the other on his brow, and closed his eyes once more. Estel looked on for a short while, hoping that his father would be able to finish what he was doing, and then sat down at the table to do as he was bidden.

Silence spread, even the men outside falling quiet. It was as if the village was holding its breath.

When the end of the silence came, it was abrupt. A sharp cry rang out in the distance, but it was swiftly picked up by other voices, spreading like wildfire. The villagers called one word over and over again, a word that made Estel drop his quill and Elrond break his connection with Legolas. The boy rushed to the window to look outside.

"Murder!"

"Who?" the men guarding the cottage called back. "Who has been murdered?" A young man came running, sweat on his brow. "It´s Miran", he panted. "We just found him, pierced by several elven arrows. I need to tell the council."

Estel´s eyes widened as he turned to his father. It was as he had feared. Their situation had just turned a lot worse.

_To be continued..._

OK, so the bloodshed was "off camera" but still ... I hope you enjoy reading, please keep the reviews coming. THANK YOU

Review responses:

Rose61393: Yes, a little pause was needed – but it cannot last forever...

Pip the Dark Lord of All: Thanks for all the comments!

Guest: I will, I´m glad you like it.

Horsegirl01: Yes, Meila is an asset but now unfortunately a widow... BTW, I just saw that you entered the Teitho contest, too. Good luck and I´m curious what will turn out to be your story.

Reina de nieve: Well, he did get some help in this chapter but the story is not over yet *evil grin*

SnoCat: Ooops – I admit that was mean. And I was just starting to like Miran...


	9. Truce

**Truce **

Estel stood rooted by the window. He felt like time itself slowed down, then sped up again when the shouts of murder mingled with those calling for revenge. Revenge against elves.

His eyes sought the still figure of Elrond who remained standing in front of the house. The elf lord did not say anything, did not partake in the heated discussion that broke out amongst the men guarding the cottage, even though the boy could clearly hear that some of them wanted to retaliate against the elves by killing him. By killing Legolas too.

Estel looked behind himself at the sleeping elf, his heart in is throat. His friend looked a lot better now that color had returned to his face and his eyes were half open. Yet he was utterly defenseless and the boy knew with sickening certainty that he could not provide the protection he had promised.

"Bring them!" A loud voice suddenly shouted through the village. "Bring them to the meeting hall!" Estel caught a glimpse of Erlond, armed men closing in on him, before the door was roughly pushed open and a villager burst in, grabbing him by the arm. Another man shoved past them towards Legolas and to Estel´s horror tried to drag the elf to his feet.

It dimly registered with the young human that it was a blessing that his friend was still under the influence of the strong sleeping draught, for otherwise the pain would have been excruciating.

As it was, the elf did not even cry out. Obviously, he did not get to his feet, either. The man dropped Legolas´ arm, his face a mask of anger. "Stop pretending and get up!" He kicked the injured elf in the ribs with enough force to shove him backwards,

"Leave him be!" Estel had not even realized the voice was his before he slipped out of his surprised captor´s grip and threw himself across the elf. He knew in his heart that this would not still the angry villager´s fury and closed his eyes in anticipation of the next attack.

Instead, a sudden stillness filled the room. All Estel could hear was Legolas´ ragged breathing beneath him. Then Elrond ´s quiet voice said: "Continuing with this abuse would be most unwise." A calming hand patted the boy´s shoulder and he slowly raised his head to find his adopted father kneel beside him. Wide-eyed, Estel watched as Erlond gently placed Legolas back onto the blankets, speaking to him soothingly as if they were in Imladris and not surrounded by seething humans.

Even so, none of the villagers moved. Some of them looked upon the elf lord in awe, some in barely contained anger, but there seemed to be an invisible force keeping them still. Now that his own horror slowly subsided the boy could sense it too, a tingling feeling in the air that spoke of a terrible power no human would be able to withstand. The silent promise to unleash it emanated from Erlond though he never even paid attention to anything but the wounded elf in front of him. Or so it seemed.

After several breathless moments the elf lord stood up, a hand on Estel´s arm urging the boy to stand aswell.

"It seems we should move on now", he said with a voice as smooth as silk, "for I gather that our presence is asked for in the meeting hall. Shall we go?" Nervous murmurs answered him and the men filed out of the cottage. One remained behind, the look upon his face drawn but determined. "We will need to have a guard with him", he said, pointing at Legoas. "Just to be sure."

Elrond nodded with a smile. "Thank you, that is very considerate, even though I am fairly certain that none of your fellows shall try harm him again." Leaving the man behind with a puzzled look on his features, they left the cottage.

The heated anger that had erupted after the news of Miran´s murder seemed to have calmed to a smoldering anticipation by the time they had reached the meeting hall, a round, thatched building in the middle of the village.

Even though they were surrounded by armed men once more on their way there, Estel felt safe at his father´s side, wrapped in his protective cloak of invisible power.

"Fear not for Legolas", Erlond quietly told him. "No serious damage was done to him." "Nor will any be added while we are gone", the boy added with a conviction that surprised him. A knowing smile spread on the elf lord´s face. "Aye, my son." Nothing else needed to be said.

When they entered the meeting hall, the bustle of voices inside suddenly died away. Estel found the house to be empty of furniture except for two platforms in the middle. On one of them he saw his elven brothers, carefully guarded but unhurt and unafraid.

On the other stood Breeth, the village´s spokesman, with a nervous expression on his face. The rest of the villagers were gathered around the platforms. Many faces were flushed in anger, and the eyes they turned on Elrond and Estel burned. Now that it was quiet, gentle sobs could be heard. The boy looked around for their source, and finally spotted Meila. She stood at the foot of the twin´s platform, her head resting on the rough wood, and cried.

His adopted father had obvioulsy seen her, too, because after a short moment to survey their surroundings he pruposefully strode in her direction. Estel followed, slightly awed by the way the people parted in front of them to make room.

Meila seemed to sense their approach for she suddenly straightened. When she recognized Elrond she let go of the platform and even took a few steps to meet him, her eyes bright with tears but also filled with stubborn strength. She bowed her head and said in a rough voice: "Well-met, my lord. I see you once again come to us in a time of need."

"Only too late to spare you from grief." He touched her shoulder briefly. "I am sorry."

They stood gazing at one another for a moment, then Erlond turned to nod at his sons before he walked towards Breeth, lightly jumping onto the platform to stand beside him. Estel remained with Meila, who took his hand and squeezed it gently.

"Well met, Breeth", the elven lord said. His voice remained quiet but it easily carried through the meeting hall. "I am truly sorry for the sadness that has befallen your people."

"And yours", the man replied with a short incline of the head, "though current events suggest that there might be an elf who is less than saddened."

A buzz of murmuring erupted at that but died down quickly when the door to the meeting hall opened yet again. This time, a group of men entered carrying the still figure of Miran.

Estel heard Meila gasp beside him and he gave her a worried look, scared that she might collapse in grief. The woman breathed heavily through the tears that streamed down her cheeks but she did not take her gaze away when her husband was laid upon the platform that held Elrond and Breeth. Both knelt down as one, examining the dead man and the arrows that stuck from his chest.

It was Elrond who rose first. "There is no doubt", he said sadly. "These are elven arrows." He looked towards the twins. "They belong to my son, Elladan."

This time, there was no quieting the angry voices. Estel felt Meila wrap an arm around him protectively as the mass of villagers around them moved as one, like water stirred into waves by a mighty storm. He could only understand single words amidst the shouts, but those were enough to freeze his heart. "Kill them!" "Unnatural creatures!"

Just when he thought he could take it no more, Breeth´s shout cut through the din. "Silence!" he thundered in a voice that carried far more authority than the boy would have given him credit for. "There will be no senseless killing in these halls!"

At the same time, he felt the familar tingling of Erlond´s quiet interference, and together, the man and the elf managed to smooth the uproar into nothing more but heated whispers.

Breeth turned to Elrond, his face grave. "You cannot fault my people for their anger", he said, "for who should they blame but those whose weapons were involved?"

Instead of reacting to the statement, Elrond let his gaze travel across the assembled humans. He turned slowly, calmly, until he had found the one he had been looking for. "My greetings to you, Melthon, father of Teila", he called to a man. "It is you I came to speak to, aswell as my sons."

A circle cleared around a villager that looked vaguely familiar to Estel. Under the gaze of the elven lord he quickly snatched his cap off his head and lowered his eyes when he said: "Any news of my child, my lord?"

Elrond smiled warmly. "Indeed. I am happy to say that your daughter is mending. We shall return her to you within a month, I believe, and you no longer need to fear for her life."

A sigh burst from the man´s lips, tears trickling down his cheeks, and his relief seemed to ease some of the tension in the room.

Elrond waited for a monent as if expecting another reaction of some sort, frowing when none, was forthcoming, and then addressed Breeth again. "Why would we struggle to heal your people when it was us harming them?"

A voice from the crowd answered for the spokesman. "Who will ever now? Your minds do not work like ours!"

Elrond cocked his head. "They do not? Do you believe that we do not fear for the lives of our loved ones? That we do not bristle at injustice committed against the innocent? What makes you so certain that we are different in that respect?"

"The fact that your own son killed our elder!" an angry man shouted from the back of the crowd. "You all but confessed so yourself!"

Once more the heat rose in the faces and words around them. Breeth had just opened his mouth to speak when suddenly a third man jumped onto the platform beside him, bow in hand. The hiss of an arrow could be heard, taking with it all other noise as the villagers fell into a stunned silence, and slammed into a beam by the door.

It was an elven arrow once more. The man on the platform looked around at his fellow villagers with a challenge on his face. "An elven arrow", he called. "But do I look like an elven archer? We removed the arrows from our prisoners. Anyone could have taken them!"

Estel had been so shocked by the sudden action that he had forgotten to breathe and now sucked in air in a gulp. He recognized the man well enough, for he had found himself threatened by his arrows before. He would have never expected him to offer the elves any assistance.

"Indeed not", Breeth ground out, his face pale. "But you will not raise your weapon again without my bidding, is that understood, Galoth?" The archer nodded with a thin grin.

"A point well made", Erlond commented. "And if you ask the brave men protecting the cottage that held my sons, I believe you will find them testify that no-one left under their guard."

Murmurs of agreement rose, supporting the elf´s claim.

"But where does this leave us?" Breeth asked tiredly. "I agree your sons had no opportunity to kill Miran, but why in the name of the Valar should any of us have committed such a deed?"

"Maybe it was neither one of you nor one of us", Elrond provided. "Think about what has happened so far. Traps have been laid along the borders of my realm. I confess that we considered human poachers to be the culprits, while your suspicion was directed against us."

His gaze travelled the crowd, seeking their attention. "And yet, what sort of poachers are these? They do not come back to their traps to claim their spoils. They lace their traps with poison that torments those that are trapped but does not kill them unless someone attempts to heal their hurts."

He turned back to Breeth, his gaze sharp. "What does this tell you, spokesman?"

The man answered slowly. "It tells me someone wants us to engage in acts of hatred against one another. It tells me we should be separated." He looked up to meet Erlond´s eyes. "But why?"

"To that, I have no answer."

For a moment, there was silence. To everybody´s surprise it was the archer who spoke next. "Let me make a suggestion then, based upon your findings. And please, let me speak until I am done, for what I have to say will not meet everyone´s approval."

When both Breeth and Elrond nodded to him, he continued.

"Should the conclusion just drawn here be correct, we need to attempt to solve this mystery together. I say we send out a small party to investigate what has happened. I volunteer to go for the village and would ask two more able men to stand by my side. For the elves, Lord Elrond´s sons could join us."

Uneasy whispers greeted his words. One man spoke up. "But how do we know this is safe? It is no secret that elves are stronger than men, and Lord Elrond´s sons are rumored to have slain whole bands of orcs on their own..."

Galoth held up his hand. "I for one trust the elves, especially considering how they have been framed today. But to ease everybody´s mind, I say we also take the boy along. I can tell he is beloved by the elves, and as such he may act as a – token for their loyalty."

Elrond´s eyes narrowed dangerously, and Estel heard the twins shift on the platform before him. It surprised him how calm he felt at the suggestion. He sought his elven father´s gaze and held it, nodding his head ever so slightly.

He could feel the scrutiny of the sharp grey eyes, could see a rare flicker of indecision in the elven lord´s steady gaze, but then Elrond turned to Galoth and Breeth.

"Agreed", he said, his tones clipped. "But I will take the wounded elf with me. He is of no use to you here."

The archer sighed, his posture weary. "I disagree, my lord, with all due respect. It is true that our strength does not match yours by far. Should we discover that it is truly an elf who seeks to pit us against one another, we shall all rest more easily knowing that you would use your considerable power to prevent an attack of retaliation against our village."

"You consider it necessary to keep a hostage?" Estel could see how the healer warred with the leader inside his father. "Who guarantees his safety?"

"I do", Breeth said. "I shall have him guarded by my most trusted men."

"And one trusted woman", Meila spoke up. She locked her still tear- shining eyes with Erlond´s. "I will see to it that his recovery continues."

Silence fell in the meeting hall. It was clear that the villagers were ready to agree, but Elrond still stood lost in thoughts. Estel watched him closely. He had heard his father speak of such situations before when they had discussed troubles of the past. He had heard him speak for alliances and trust, had heard him describe the hardships of compromise.

His adopted father looked up to seek out his twin sons, who remained as silent as before but returned his gaze. The boy could sense their mute communication, the way they spoke their minds to each other without uttering a word.

Finally, the elf lord nodded. "I agree, but do not be mislead. Should the signs speak against someone in this village, I expect this person to be brought to justice. Seek protecting him at my sons´ expense or that of the elf we leave in your care, fear my wrath."

He allowed his words to spread their resosnace through the hall before he continued: "I will return to Imladris today to continue my work on a swift remedy for the poison used in the traps, should anyone get caught in them again. My hunters patrol the borders of my lands as we speak, and any discovery they make shall be shared with you."

He nodded at Breeth and Galoth, then at his sons, and turned to leave. The crowd parted before him as it had done when he had entered. At the door, he turned back and adressed the villagers one last time. "I missed one man who I had expected to be at this meeting. Be wary of Botham, for his grief may well have robbed him of the ability to differentiate between friend and foe."

Then he was gone, and soon the steady hoofbeats of a lone horse were lost in the distance. Voices erupted around Estel as if a spell had been broken, and for a moment he felt cold, bereft of the protective presence that had supported him during the meeting.

Then he felt a hand on his left shoulder, soon to be joined by one on his right when the twins appeared by his side. "Well, brother". Elladan said, his eyes holding a mixture of appreciation and worry, "it would seem that your adventure with us is not over just yet."

_To be continued..._

A big warm THANK YOU to all readers and reviewers – you make my day!

Review responses:

SnowGlory: Nope, not really *g*

Guest: I certainly will, thank you.

SnoCat: I´m sorry – but he had to die (blame the plot bunny...) And now Elrond has left again already *evil grin*

Horsegirl01: Hm – yep, I liked him too and I´m pretty sure he will not be the last one to die before the story is over...Concerning the contest, for me it´s not really about winning either but about all the fun. We all learn from it *smiles*

GreyLynx: Thank you! I´m very happy you liked it and I hope you were content with Elrond´s skills in this chapter. Keep the reviews coming.

Peredhel: Erm - *backs away slowly* - no harm inteded, I swear. Plus, I´m unarmed. It´s the plot bunny that has sharp teeth. Plus, I´ve updated fairly quickly – I hope *turns and runs*


	10. Relevations

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to whish all of you a very Happy Easter (if you do celebrate it). I cannot pass out chocolate eggs but I´ll hand you one awake Legolas, neatly wrapped with a yellow ribbon *g*

Alinah

**Revelations**

Legolas awoke slowly in a the way that told him he might just want to stay asleep a little longer. Usually, awareness did not approach him in this halting, tentative fashion but rolled over him in a freshening wave, leaving him fully alert within heartbeats.

He had experienced this particular feeling often enough to know that he must have been badly injured. The room that drifted into focus around him was only very vaguely familiar, but he could immediately tell by its looks and smells that it was a human dwelling. A woman stood with her back to him, obviously cooking at a small hearth, and hummed a tune that was merry on the outside but deeply sad within, as if she tried to convince herself of a happiness that she did not feel.

Meila. With the slow memory of the name came the taste of chicken broth in his mouth, the feeling of Elrohir at his side...

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, allowing the memories to wash over him. Some where blurred, distorted by pain or healing herbs or a mixture of both, some clear as crisp morning ice in winter. He inwardly winced at the sound of his knife finding its mark in his horse´s eye but tried to not push it away. It was with him whether he wanted to or not, so it was best to face it and then file it away. More sounds returned to him, sounds of snarls and cries and familiar voices. Images followed of Estel´s face and those of the twins. Last came the feelings - anger, relief and pain. Intense pain that flared from his ankle and licked agonizing tendrils up his leg and beyond.

Yet, he was very aware that it was a remembered pain, not one plaguing him at this very moment. He cautiously concentrated on the injured limb and was surprised to find it only dully throbbing, a very bearable sensation and one that was not glazed over by soothing herbs.

Satisfied that his own state was better than could have been expected under such circumstances, he stretched his senses outwards, seeking Lord Elrond´s sons whose presence had been so dominant in his memories. It made him uneasy to find no trace of them nearby and he shifted slightly.

Immediately, the human woman´s humming stopped.

The elf opened his eyes once more and was not surprised to find Meila looking down at him, a beaming smile on her face even though he saw the remnants of tears in her eyes.

"What a pleasant sight you are! Welcome to the world of awareness, young lord."

He returned her smile readily. "Do not call me lord, mistress, for I am none to you." He was pleased to find that his voice sounded only slightly scratchy. "And young I am certainly not, either, compared to your tender age."

She laughed at that, a mirth that briefly touched her eyes. "That may be so, but I look like a wrinkled apple and you as if you could be my grandchild. It confuses my human brain to think of you as old, so humor me when I talk to you as I would to a human with your appearance. Lord Elrond´s sons garciously tolerate my addresses as well."

His face must had reacted to her mentioning his friends, because she quickly sobered and said more quietly: "It would not surprise me if you were uneasy to find yourself alone with me. I have to apologize for being a poor substitute to the company you are used to. I assure you that your friends did not leave you behind easily. If you are willing, I shall tell you the story behind this predicament."

Legolas felt a stab of guilt. Once again he sensed deep sadness in the kind woman, a sadness that would never heal. "You are not a poor substitute but rather a welcome improvement", he reassured her. "Lord Elrond´s sons have rather stressful bedside manners once their charge is out of danger. You are far more civil, I assure you."

She chuckled. "Would you say the same for Lord Elrond as well?" Again, she read his face easily when surprise overcame him. "The lord of Imladris spent a while with you yesterday, or so I was told", she explained. "Apparently he attempted to heal as many of your hurts as he was able."

The elf nodded to himself. This certainly served as an explanation for the lack of pain he felt, as well as for the strength that already returned to him. He struggled to sit up, and the woman was beside him in a heartbeat, stuffing pillows behind his back. She kept a hand on his arm that was surprisingly steady.

"Now, now, not too hasty", she chastened him. "Mayhap your healers merely try to protect you from yourself when they display harch manners towards you."

Legoas laughed, patiently waiting for the room to stop spinning around him. "So I have been told many times, but this is nothing but rumor and legend. You will find me a most compliant patient."

Meila snorted. "That seems highly unlikely, young lord. Now please sit still and do not tumble over while I get you something to eat. After that I shall tell you what has transpired to force your friends from your side."

/

Some hot broth and a long story later Legolas sat silently, still propped up on pillows, and allowed his mind to wander while Meila busied herself around the cottage. She avoided facing him for now. He did not hold her distance against her, because recounting her husband´s death to him had opened the dams of her grief.

"He was old and so am I", she had told him through her tears, "and we had long since exptected on of us to embark on the journey to the Great Beyond, but for him to go this way..." She had trailed off, unable to continue.

Just this once she had not caught the elf´s emotions, distracted as she had been, or she would have been surprised at the intense anger that had flashed through the normally gentle blue eyes. Legolas looked down at his hands, flexing them slightly, willing their strength to return even faster. He knew he could not rid her of her grief, but he fully intended to rid the world of the people who had caused it.

He was very aware that these were likely the same people that had endangered him and his friends. His thoughts turned to Estel. He was more than amazed by the change the boy had gone through since he had seen him last. Four years past he had been a child, strong-willed and carefree, though equipped with an inner strength and sense for justice that had foreshawdowed the man he would become.

Now, however, this man was already trying to break through, not unlike a snake struggeling to lose a skin that had grown too tight. True, the youth still had the rounded features of innocence and the gangly limbs of a colt, but his actions when faced with horror and death had been far removed from a child scrambling for his father´s protection.

The elf remembered Estel as he had been in the glade, horrified yet steadfast, crying one minute and screaming defiance in the next, and now Meila had filled him in on the young human´s brave agreement to embark on a dangerous journey. The fact that lord Elrond had let him go spoke of a trust in the boy´s abilities that mirrored Legolas´ own.

Even though, the woodelf felt a nagging unrest when he thought of Estel and the twins. He was more aware than most that Lord Elrond´s son were a force to be reckoned with, yet a strange forboding made him fearful for them all. Something was very wrong, something that was still lost in the shadows.

He cursed his current state of inability and it took all of his considerable power of will to keep from forcing his aching legs under him to follow his friends. That would be no good, not yet, and he knew it, but the knowledge made his weakness no easier to bear.

He turned his senses to the world outside. Meila had opened the windows to welcome fresh air into the kitchen, and for a moment he allowed himself to revel in the faint smell of earth and trees that the breeze carried in. He sighed contently at the familiar and soothing odour. Before he knew it he was carried back into the realm of dreams.

/

His next awakening was faster and more thorough. He pushed himself onto his elbows to look out of the window, pleased to see that only a few hours had passed. Still weak or not, the nagging feeling of unease Meila´s story had left in him had not abated. If anything, it had grown. He did not doubt the old woman´s motives for a heartbeat, but still he sensed that the security of her home might be elusive.

Meila was obviouly taking a rest in her bedroom. He could clearly hear her even breathing in the next room. All the better, that meant he would not be interrupted by her.

Gazing around the room his eyes quickly setteled on what he had been looking for. He grinned. Trust a healer to always be prepared for the patient´s progress – only that he meant to force this progress just a little. He would have to move a few paces along the wall to reach the crutches that rested there but he was determined not to be discouraged.

He kept his legs straight and turned, scooting backwards until his back connected with the wall. Taking a deep breath, he slowly pushed himself up on his good leg. He was careful and slow, but his stomach still clenched at the movement and the room tilted sideways dangerouly, forcing him back to the ground.

Legolas clenched his teeth and willed his breath to slow. He did not need much imagination to envision Lord Elrond, stern eyebrow raised, ordering him back to bed as he had done on several simliar occasions in the past. "Well, you are not here", he ground out at the absent healer. "Maybe you should have given Meila a stronger sleeping potion..." he rose once more, his heartbeat accelerating ,..."or better instructions."

This time Legolas did not fall, though it was a narrow escape. Sweat began to collect on his forehead and he began to wonder whether getting up already had really been a practical idea. He still leaned back against the wood, delicatedly balanced on one leg, when a scream broke the stillness of the village.

The sudden sound quite forcefully drove home the realization that up until now it had been unnaturally quiet outside. He remembered a few subdued voices in the distance when he had eaten his broth earlier, but all in all the silence had been almost complete.

The scream echoed again. This time, Legolas could detremine that it was not uttered by a human but by a horse. For a moment his heart clenched in sorrowful memory. However, the feeling passed quickly, because he could tell that this animal had not screamed in pain or fear. It was angry.

"Ah, not that again!" he heard Meila mumble from the other room. "Whenever he enters the stable there is a racket to wake the dead. When will he finally learn..." The door opened and the woman stopped speaking, looking at Legolas as if she was faced with a ghost.

The elf smiled and tried to seem completely at ease, but Meila was not fooled. Slowly, her gentle features turned stern and she harrumphed angrily. Then she took a few purposeful steps, picked up the crutches and handed them to Legolas.

"I assume you you were waiting for these to hop your way", she said, "for a wise immortal being like yourself would certainly not be silly enough to try and walk with such an injury." Her eyes bore into him with enough intensity to make him cringe. "Though in all truth, I have never heard of crutches that could walk on their own. It must be elven magic that we humble humans do not possess."

She turned away, leaving him to arrange the crutches, and closed the window.

Legolas briefly considered apologizing to her but then decided against it. Meila had quite effectively closed the subject already. Instead, he asked: "What horse is making such a racket?" On cue, the shrill neighing could be heard again.

"That is the grey stallion my neighbour bought last month. Stubborn creature, no sense can be forced into it." She threw the elf a meaningful look, clearly comparing him to the animal. "My poor neighbour is a good man and tries his best without bringing any harm to the beast but it seems to be useless. I am fairly certain that this horse can never be ridden, nor will it pull a plough."

Legolas had regained his composure by now, thankful for the security the crutches offered, and replied with real eagerness: "Mayhap I can help him. All good animals listen when an elf speaks."

She chuckled, her anger gone. "The question remains, is that grey devil a good animal? But I am certain my neighbour would welcome your assistance. It might truly be a good destination for your first little walk tomorrow, for it is not far."

She looked at him, the challenge clear, and he looked straight back.

"I am on my feet already", he pointed out.

"Barely."

"Would it not be a waste of effort for me to just stand here?"

"Not if this taught you a lesson about pushing yourself too far too soon."

"I am not pushing myself too far, I am perfectly fine."

"You are pale."

"That is in my nature."

"You are sweating."

"Your hearth is quite warm."

Meila glared at him, but he was relieved to see mirth twinkling in her eyes and she finally broke into a laugh. "Very well, if your mind is swift enough for verbal sparring I assume it can assess your abilities, also. But you shall suffer the embarassment of having an old woman guard our every step."

He smiled. "That sounds like a just punishment, mistress. Now shall we go?"

And go they did, if very, very slowly. There was no denying that the elf needed the human´s guidance, because he had to concentrate on staying upright so much that unimportant nuisances like doors or stones in his way would have gone unnoticed without her.

The neighbour´s stable was truly only a few steps away, but when they had reached it and Legolas could lean against a wall for support, he was drenched in sweat. "Never noticed a hearth in this stable", Meila commented dryly, but she stayed beside him until she was sure that he would not pass out. It took a few moments.

When the elf was able to take in his surroundings he immediately noticed the massive grey horse that stood a few paces away, watching him as closely as Meila. When the stallion felt his attention, he shook his mane and rolled his eyes dramatically. He raised himself on his hind legs, if only a little, and pounded his hooves into the ground with force.

"Im tirad almug." /I see (a) dragon/ Legolas chuckled softly. The horse stilled right away, ears pricked up in curiosity. When the elf said no more, the stallion stepped forward, strechting its muscled neck over the stall´s wall, and nudged him demandingly.

Meila shook her head in disbelief. "What compliment did you pay him? He has never allowed anyone to touch him, let alone make the effort to seek contact himself."

Legolas laughed under his breath. "It was a doubtful compliment, though he seems to consider it such. If you do not mind, I would like to stay here awhile and watch him. Maybe I can find out what ails him so."

"And it would conveniently prevent you from the need to move", Meila commented with satisfaction. "As your current healer, I whole-heartedly support that particular idea. Let me go and inform my neighbour that there is an elf in his stable and several armed men in front of it."

Legolas looked around in suprise and was astonished to find her words true. How could he have missed such a crucial fact? The woman smiled gently at him. "You were slightly preoccupied on the way here, young lord. But do not worry, they aremeant to protect you."

The nervous glances the men threw in his direction seemed to belie her words, but the elf decided that for the moment he should not dwell on what he could not change. Instead, he turned his attention back onto the horse.

/

The day passed into evening. The grey stallion seemed to enjoy the elf´s company, and the longer Legolas stayed beside him, the more he felt the great beast´s yearning for freedom. The stallion hated walls, hated bridles and saddles. He simply wanted to be free.

"A difficult endeavour", Legolas mused, stroking the soft fur. "The farmer must have spent a year´s saving for you and needs your strength on his fields. Mayhap I can ask Lord Elrond to trade you for another beast which is more suited for the toils of farmwork."

The elf had crossed the few paced to the horse´s box and now leaned directly against it. He had to admit that he was glad Meila would soon come and help him to her house. He was exhausted beyong words and his injured leg throbbed while the other one burned from taking his weight alone.

To distract himself from the discomfort he closed his eyes and listend into the village. Nearby he could hear his guards breathe deeply, obviously asleep. They had been for at least an hour. Farther away, he could faintly hear a family talking over their supper. And even farther away...

Suddenly his eyes snapped open and his heart began to race. He strained, concentrating even more. There was the voice again: "...successfully lead them astray. But the elves suspect something amiss."

Another voice replied: "Stay out of sight. And when the time is right, kill them. Kill all three. There will be no peace with Imladris after that."

_To be continued..._

Thank you for reading and reviewing_!_

Review responses:

Guest: Hm – maybe?*g*

Rose61393: Sorry to disappoint you this time around, but don´t worry, there will be more action for the three.

Shire Rose: Ta-daa – one awake Legolas for you.

Snow-Glory: Well at least he has a nice old lady at his side – but you are correct, of course.

Mirwood warrior: Thank you! I must confess I love writing Elrond (though I seem to misspell his name a lot *blushes*). Hope the update was soon enough for you.

Pip the Dark Lord of All: Thank you!

Horsegirl01: You are correct that the situation is a bit – hmm, dire? You will get all the answers in time, I promise.

Annual 123: I try to be fast. Thanks!

GreyLynx: Thanks for poiting out the typos. I´ll go through the chapters again and try to erase them as soon as I have time. You would not believe how many times I DID correct Erlond´s – emr Lerond´s – erm Elrond´s name. It really gives me trouble, for whatever reason. Must be elven magic...

SnoCat: Glad you like it. I´m not giving away who is behind this just yet *g*


	11. Ambush

**Ambush**

Evening fell in the dense woods they were riding through. The bright sunlight of the day slowly dimmed to bronze before exploding into a firy red glow that brightened the skies. The rustling leaves soaked up the color, seeming to turn to blood, before dusk dulled the shades to green once more. Not long after, grey filtered into the air.

With the darkness came the awareness that something was following them.

Estel could sense a change in the atmosphere, a subtle shift that suddenly put him on edge. He sneaked a glance at his elven brothers and saw them grow tense, aswell.

So far, the hunt for the poachers had been surprisingly uneventful. They had departed the village this morning. Leaving Legolas behind felt wrong to Estel, even though he trusted Meila with all his heart. Not even his brothers´ assurances that their friend was recovering with surprising speed now that their father had seen to him had eased his mind. If anything turned out to be amiss in the village, who would protect the wounded elf?

Elladan had answered the question without even batting an eye. "He will protect himself", he had said dryly. "He seems to be surprsingly capable of the task when we are not around to do it for him." A grin had streaked across his fair features. "The fact that I slipped Meila his weapons before we left will certaily help matters, should the need arise. It is a pity his bow was destroyed, but I managed to smuggle out a substitute."

Estel had looked around at their human companions, afraid that their had heard, before realizing that Elladan had addressed him in Elvish. The brothers had laughed together then, and Estel had tried to seek comfort in the fact that they, too, were now armed again.

For the remainder of the day, the brothers had spoken common tongue even amongst themselves, and after a while the slight tension between them and the villagers had eased. Elrohir had even challenged the archer Galoth to a competition that he had good-naturedly lost.

They had found several more of the traps, many of them holding the remains of animals, but no traces were to be discovered in the high grass, not even by the twins.

"We need to come upon freshly laid traps, or wind and rain will have erased any tracks", Elladan had said with a hint of frustration. "Whoever is behind this knows their way around the wilds."

With evening closing in, they had started looking for a place to camp. Galoth was leading the group as he had done most of the day. He and his friends seemed unaware of the change that had befallen the elves and their human brother.

Quietly, Elladan and Elrohir guided their horses to Estel´s side. "Tirio eryn."/Watch the forest./ Elladan said under his breath. "Ben anglenna."/Someone approaches./ The boy nodded, his muscles suddenly taught like a bowstring.

One of the villagers turned to them, a slight frown on his face as if he had caught the sound of Elvish in the air, but before Estel could call out to him that everything was well, an arrow embedded itself into the man´s chest, immediately estinguishing life´s light in his eyes.

Elladan had his own bow up at the same moment, his arrow flying side by side with Galoth´s as they both sought to take down the attacker. Elrohir grabbed Alagos´ reins and turned their horses to place himself between any futher missiles and his brother. "Duck and stay down", he called, his bow already singing. "Draw your sword in case they get closer."

His heart in his mouth, Estel complied. His head felt as if it was filled by a fiery liquid, but at the same time his senses were suddenly more acute. He could hear his brother´s garments rustle with every arrow he drew, and he felt each of his stallion´s quivering breaths. The hilt of his sword burned in his hand, cold and foreign, even though he had practiced with it for years.

The boy saw the second villager fall. Moments later Galoth and the twins had formed a ring around him. Arrows still flew, but he could also hear horses neigh and branches snap under heavy hooves. The attackers were closing in.

"Do you recognize them?" Elladan called, obviously addressing Galoth. "Nay", the man anwered with a grunt, drawing a short sword from its sheath. "They wear masks but by the Valar, they are human!"

Then they were upon them. To Estel it seemed like their numbers were uncountable and for a moment sheer panic rose in him, threatening to wipe any clarity from his mind. The movement of the fight forced the the twins and Galoth apart, leaving room for the attackers to reach the boy.

Galoth had been correct, they did indeed wear masks, dark pieces of cloth with holes for their eyes and noses. They made them seem inhuman, creatures out of nightmares that were not only after their prey´s life but after its soul.

One of them pushed his horse between the twins´, burning eyes on Estel, but he fell from a stab to the back before he could reach the boy. Having been distracted by saving his brother, Elladan was a touch too slow bringing his sword around again and received a glancing blow to his arm that colored his sleeve scarlet.

It was the sight of his brother´s blood that suddenly freed Estel from his stupor. The sword seemed to jump alive in his hand, eager to be used, and he pressed Alagos sideways to gain more room.

Immediately, two attackers turned their attention to him, but the boy could see by their posture that they considered him an easy target. He could even hear one of them chuckle. The sound made him furious. Instead of waiting for them, he pushed his stallion forward. His sword arched upwards in a move he had practiced so often that it seemed to come naturally and then caught the first man in the shoulder.

Estel had put so much force into the blow that the blade sank in deeply and became stuck when it hit a bone.

Blood gushed from the injury, its sight almost as shocking to Estel as that of Elladan had been. Alagos threw up his head at the smell and danced backwards, nearly forcing his rider to lose his grip on the sword. With a desperate pull the boy managed to dislodge his weapon. His eyes were on the man who slid sideways, obviously losing consciousness.

For a brief moment there was an instinct in Estel to drop his sword and help the man. In his mind, he already went through his healing supplies, considering the best options to still the bleeding.

"Watch out!" Elrohir´s cry came just in time to allow Estel to duck. He felt the swoosh of air as a blade passed above him. Pressed low agaist Alagos´ neck, all he could see of his second oponent was his leg, so he aimed a blow at the man´s knee.

This time, experience and his awkward pose led him to be less forceful but still his sword drew blood. Acting upon instict rather than a plan, the boy reached down and grabbed the injured man´s foot, bringing it upwards with a jerk that effectively unseated the man from his horse.

When Estel rightened himself, he felt strangely light-headed. Two men lay before his horse´s hooves, only one of them moving.

All of a sudden Elrohir was at his side. Blood flowed from a cut to his cheek but his eyes burned with fierce determination and with a dark pleasure that sent chills down Estel´s spine.

"Can you handle them alone?" Galoth had reached the boy´s other side, addressing the elf. He too was bleeding but seemed not badly hurt.

There was a laugh from a few feet away and it was Elladan who answered the question, never ceasing his motions as his sword danced around him with a life of its own. Dazedly, Estel counted at least five men that lay dead or dying around him. The blood that dripped from his hand did nothing to slow him. "Of course we can!"

Galoth nodded, his eyes seeking out Elrohir again. "Good then. I will see your brother to safety. Then I shall return here."

Estel felt like he should protest, but his eyes were drawn to the first man he had attacked and he sensed bile rise in his throat. The noise of fighting seemed far away. When he felt his brother´s hand on his arm, he looked up to find the darkness almost gone from Elrohir´s eyes. "Iston dîn naw" /I know his plan/, the elf said quietly, imploringly. "Garo ho peda." /Do as he says./ Switching to the common tongue, he called out: "Aye, we shall be here when you return."

The exchange had only taken seconds, but already some of the attackers turned away from Elladan to face them. Elrohir swung his horse around to intercept them, and Estel saw the veil of battle settle back upon his features. "Ride now!" he called. "None shall follow you."

Galoth grabbed Alagos´ reins and pulled the stallion with him. First it seemed to Estel as if they were heading for a solid wall of trees and he tried to wrestle his horse free, but then he saw a path open beyond a few bushes.

The archer expertly guided them through, then let go of Alagos. "Stay behind me", he called to the boy, "and keep up, we don´t want them to catch up with us should they get past your brothers."

The statement almost made Estel laugh. There was utter conviction in him that none of the men would get past the twins. That none of them would survive this day.

Soon, the fog in his head lifted as he had to concentrate on staying on his horse. They kept galloping at full speed and the path was narrow to say the least, often making sudden turns that almost unseated the boy. Darkness had now fallen completely, and had it not been for the silver rays of the moon, they would have needed to creep forward at a snail´s pace.

After what seemed like hours Galoth suddenly reined in his horse and jumped off. They were in a small clearing that looked no different from others they had passed, but the man seemed to be searching for something. He stomped his feet and listened, repeating the action again and again. The frail glow from above made the archer´s face look ghostly pale.

For a moment Estel considered whether the man had lost his mind, but suddenly he leaned down and took hold of an iron ring that was covered with moss. He pulled once, twice, and a trapdor opened.

Galoth looked up at Estel and gestured impatiently. "Come on, get in, boy. I swear to you, no one shall find you here." His tone of voice startled Estel and he felt the hair at the back of his neck rise. Something had changed in the archer, and not for the better. He hesitated for a moment, considering his options, but then remembered Elrohir´s words. There was no question in him that he needed to trust his brother.

Carefully, he slipped off Alagos´back, leaving his weapons attached to the saddle. The stallion seemed to be as unsettled as he was, prancing back and forth. When Galoth reached out a hand to drag Estel towards the hole, the horse bared his teeth and snapped, ears so far back that they were all but invisible. A look crossed Galoth´s face then that was so full of fury that it made Estel´s blood run cold. He could see the man´s hands twitch to reach for his bow, but he caught himself just in time.

"Keep your beast in check, child, and get in here!" he said through clenched teeth. There was no missing the fact that his patience was running thin. Making up his mind, Estel put a hand on Alagos´ forhead and repeated an order that he had already given not too long ago. "Trevedo mbar, lhagr!" /Run home, quickly./ He put all authority he had in his voice and the stallion seemed to sense it, for he turned on his heels and raced away.

Estel had felt Galoth´s rising temper, but he had not anticipated the man´s reaction. With a curse, he pushed the boy to the ground and brought up his bow, aiming the arrow at the retreating horse. With a cry of anger Estel launched himself at the man´s feet, pushing him off balance, and was satistied to hear a curse and a dull thud as the missile hit a tree.

"Ah, death on you, Elvish brat!" Galoth turned his anger on Estel, kicking him repeatedly, but then reined himself in with obvious effort. Despite the pain that raced through him, the boy had a strange feeling of victory, as if he had just accomplished something that would change the outcome of this matter.

The archer took him by his tunic and pulled him roughly towards the hole. Before dropping him into the dank darkness, he brought his face close to Estel´s. "Be glad that I still need you as a token to control your brothers, or you would be dead now. Too bad those darn elves would probably sense me lying would I slay you now."

He gave Estel a last push and the boy tumbled backwards, the air leaving his lungs painfully when his back connected with the packed earth beneath him. "But do not get too comfortable", he heard Galoth´s voice when he pushed the trapdoor shut, scraping something on top to hold it in place. "Soon enough, your brothers shall be dead and I will have no more use for you!"

There was the sound of hooves drumming away into the distance, and then silence joined the darkness around Estel, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

_To be continued..._

My apologies for the late update, but as a working Mom I have days that simply leave no time for hobbies – not for mine, anyway. Please bear with me, I promise to update as soon as I can (plus write a story for the next Teitho contest – darn plotbunnies, they won´t leave me alone.)

THANK YOU for reading and reviewing!

Review responses:

Mirkwood warrior: Thanks, I´m happy you like it so much!

Pip the Dark Lord of All: True – hope you liked the trouble!

Snowywolf7: Thanks for your comments. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, too.

SnoCat: You´ll find out next chapter just how accurate you were *g*

Horsegirl01: Ya think? Anyone who is in need of saving? *wink*

Shire Rose: Where did you get the idea that I would play havoc with their health? I would not, would I? Erm – oh well, maybe... *g*


	12. A Grudge Close to Home

**A Grudge Close to Home**

Meila leaned across the table, took Legolas´ hands into her own and looked into his eyes.

Surprised by her gesture, he looked up and knew at the same moment that he should not have done so. They had only returned to the woman´s cozy cottage a few moments ago and the elf was immensely grateful to be finally sitting down again. He was both exhausted beyond words and full of resolve, and he knew that his guard was down. His plans must haven been written all over his face. Meila´s next words only confirmed his reasoning.

"You will NOT walk out of my house on that injured leg", she said firmly. "Nor will you run on it, or tiptoe on it, or use any other means to move that involves this limb. Elf or not, the injury was too severe to be careless about. I will not be responsible for an immortal marring his iternal life due to his impatience."

Legolas did not react at first, but neither did he bother to school his features into innocense. It would have been an insult to Meila´s intelligence. Instead, he searched for words that would both convey the truth and persuade his hostess. It was not an easy task, especially considering his tiredness, and thus took a while.

Meila did not interrupt his thoughts, she merely let go of his hands, her point made, and leaned back with her arms folded across her chest. She looked tired, too, the elf noticed absently, and he could tell that she had been crying.

"In the stable, shortly before you came, I listened to a conversation between two men", he finally began. "They were talking about my friends. About harming them. I cannot let that happen."

The woman´s eyebrows rose, She had clearly not expected her patient to be this open, and neither had she suspected him to gather such news while talking to an upset horse.

"My neighbour would never do such a thing", she answered. "You must have been mistaken."

Legolas shook his head. "Nay, mistress, the conversation was not that close. I cannot tell exactly where it was coming from, but by my estimation it must have been towards the edges of the village, maybe even slightly beyond."

Her eyes widened before a short smile fulttered across her face. "Ah, forgive me, I forget that your senses are not as limited as mine. Did you recognize the voices?"

The elf sighed in frustartion. "Sadly, no. I would probably be able to match them to their owners should I hear them again, but there are more pressing things to do than looking for them."

"Things that involve walking on that leg of yours", Meila commented dryly. Legolas could not quite manage to bite back a smile at her insistence.

"Truly, my lady, no. I do not mean to walk at all." He watched her slightly angry disbelielf for a heartbeat before finishing the thought. "The horse would do all the walking."

"The horse?" Her voice rose a bit. "You mean THAT horse?" She pointed into the direction of her neighbour´s stable. "The horse that is too wild to even be approached? Well, that is such a comforting thought. Instead of walking on a severly injured leg, you intend to get more of your bones shattered!"

"He shall not attempt to throw me off", the elf replied quietly. "I already asked his premission. He is eager to help."

The woman was already shaking her head. "I am well prepared to believe that you can hear conversations too far away for me to even guess about. But I have never heard of elves taking to animals, at least not outside of tall tales that also involve flying carpets and walking rocks." Her eyes flashed angrily.

"We cannot talk to them the way we talk to each other, that is true, but we can – communicate. We can convey the most basic ideas. Such as a plea for help." He held her gaze steadily. "I am not lying to you and if you so wish, I shall prove it to you. I appreciate your concern for my well-being."

It took only a moment for her anger to melt away. "I shall hold you to that promise", she said grudgingly. " I also need to pont out that riding is only slightly better than walking."

"But better it is!" He smiled briefly at his victory, but there was more he needed to talk about and his expression turned serious again. "Meila, it seems that the offer to search for the poachers together was nothing but a ruse. At least one of the villagers that left with my friends did so with evil intentions. What can you tell me about the three of them?"

The woman´s gaze turned thoughtful. "Marush and Boran I have known since they were little lads", she began. "I have tended to their colds and one or the other broken bone. They are good, steady men, truthful husbands and fathers. They are nor perfect by far and sometimes their fists are faster than their brains, especially if they have been drinking, but they are not evil souls."

"Could any of them hold a grudge against Lord Elrond?" Legolas asked. "It seems to me that whoever is behind this wants to destroy the peace between men and elves in this realm."

Meila shook her head. "Nay, my young lord. There would be no reason for them to hate elves. It is true that there has been much – legend about elves lately, because our last close contact is remembered by so few, but none except Botham has ever expressed hate or even anger towards anybody in Imladris. And his feelings are too fresh to be the cause of all this."

Legolas had concluded that much about Botham himself, even though he did not doubt that by now, the man would probaly aid anybody who plotted against the immortals. It angered him that the plan to poison the villagers´ feelings towards the elves was already working. He had always admired the way Lord Elrond kept a balance between protecting an elven community and linking it to the villages beyond. His own father had a slightly more restrictive approach that he understood but not always welcomed.

"What can you tell me about Galoth then?"

Meila tilted her head in thought. "Not too much, really. He only joined our community last winter but since then, his skills with the bow have been an asset to us. He is an expert hunter, so..."

Her voice trailed off. "Do you believe that he started all this? But why?"

The elf could do nothing but shrug. "I do not accuse him of anything, and neither do I know his intentions. But as a relative stranger he at least seems most likely to be the deceiver."

Meila leaned back with a sigh. "It was he who suggested the joint effort. Why would he have done so? It seemed to ease the tension and appease even those who had been on Botham´s side."

"Do you truly belive that your council would have decided to harm Lord Elrond´s sons? Think about it. Our capture happened with both Botham and Galoth present, and emotions must have run high. But in time it seems that most humans here came to their senses."

The woman looked surprised, but she nodded. "You are correct! And without my husband´s...and he was..."

She was unable to finish, but Legolas understood her nonetheless. Her husband´s death had pushed the receding anger to a new height, and it had been carried out by bow and arrow. Galoth´s favoured weapons.

Now it was the elf´s turn to seize Meila´s hands. "Please, mistress, think back to recent months. What has Galoth ever said about his past that could at least hint at his reasons?"

Tears leaked from her eyes but he could tell that she was sorting through her memories. "It is rather unsual for anyone truly new to join a village", she said at last. "Few humans ever roam far from their homes except for the rangers, and they are not known for ever settling down. I do recall that Galoth said he came from farther east, that he had been trying to make a living..." She suddenly faltered, and a new understanding filled her eyes."...near Mirkwood. But he said it was impossible to live there."

A sudden cold settled in Legolas´ heart. Could it truly be that the man´s hatred stemmed from his realm, not this one? That an experience with wooldland elves had led to a hatred now directed against any immortal? If so, Imladris was certainly the easier target, precisely because it was much more open towards strangers than Mirkwood had ever been.

He shuddered at the thought how his father would have reacted had he and Elrond´s sons been abducted close to his home. There was no doubt in his mind that the village would no longer be standing.

Some of his shock must have registered on his face, because Meila squeezed his hands. "Did I upset you?" she asked kindly. "Do you have relations in Mirkwood? I heard it was a hauntingly beautiful but troubled place."

It took Legolas a moment to get over his surprise. He was so commonly associated with his home – and often enough his father – that he was slightly taken aback by her lack of knowledge. It was only now that he realized the twins must have changed his torn and bloodied clothes at some point, because he no longer wore his custom shades of green. To the villagers he must have been an Imladris elf without question. He briefly wondered whether they would have all fared differently had his home and position there been obvious to Galoth, but then pushed the thought aside.

He realized that Meila was still awaiting an answer and decided to be honest with her. She deserved no less. "My father is king in Mirkwood", he said simply. "If Galoth truly has suffered anything he considers injustice there, my people must have been involved."

It took the woman a moment to digest this news, but she did so with admiringly little trouble. "You must be more than careful then", she sighed. "I still do not approve of you leaving my house, but by the Valar, now I understand you must."

She suddely rose from her chair and disappeared into her bedchamber, only top return with his knives and quiver and a bow. "Lord Elladan gave these to me before he left", she explained. "It seems he has inhertited the abilities his father is rumoured to have."

"Indeed." Legolas allowed his hands to travel across his weapons´s hilts, feeling strengthened by the familiar contact. "Now if you would help me to steal a wild horse before dawn, I am ready to seek out Galoth and demand an explanation."

Meila smiled. "Steal? No, young prince of the woods. But I shall borrow it for you. I am certain my neighbour will not mind too much if I ask his permission long after you are gone."

/

It was still dark outside, the mists of morning only just beginning to creep from the meadows, when Legolas tried to get comfortable on the grey stallion´s back. He felt a bit stronger than the day before, though he was grateful that Meila had so readily helped him. Especially that she had provided a stool to assist him mount the animal. As degrading as it had been, he knew it had spared him a lot of pain.

They had to make haste, for soon the men appointed to guard him would reappear before Meila´s house.

The old woman was standing beside him, her eyes taking in any reaction of both himself and the horse. "Well then", she declared after a little while, " it seems that this wild beast has no intentions of getting rid of you. So elves are truly able to talk to animals. I shall remember that." She handed him a leather bag. "Water and food and more healing supplies, in the unlikely case you should need them."

He ironic tones made her more simliar to Lord Elrond than she would ever know.

"Please be careful, young prince. I would be most displeased if the effort I put into your recovery – not to mentian your flight - should prove in vain."

He inclined his head. "I promise to do my very best. Do not let down your own guard, Meila. You need to convince people that you had no part in my departure. Feel free to let them believe I stole the horse."

She was already turning away from him, one hand waving dismissively. "Do not worry about my old felsh and bones. With you gone, what interest in me should they have?"

The elf could only hope that she did not underestimate the impact of her actions. With a sigh, he turned the stallion towards the path his friends had also taken. "Let the search begin, my friend."

The stallion eagerly jumped into a slow gallop, his grey bulk soon swallowed by the rising mist.

Behind them, hidden behind a small cottage, the shadow of a man slowly rose from his crouch and briskly walked away.

_To be continued..._

A big hug and and THANK you to all who read and review!

Review responses:

Rose61393: You had a good instinct what Galoth is concerned. Thanks!

Guest: Thanks – to me this is the perfect hobby *g*

Peredhel: Lol! Good luck trying to keep ahead of those bunnies, they are quite fast. Thanks for your comment.

SnoCat: I know what you mean, that´s why I never read unfinished stories *g* I promise to be as fast as possible.

All-for-the elves: You are SO correct (I had written Legolas´ dialog before you posted this – what a coincidence!)

Horsegirl01: Here you go, a Legolas chapter again – and now he rides to the rescue... OK, so he´ll not be alone, but we don´t want things to be too easy, do we?

Sehellys: LOL, it´s been quite a while, so who could know? Great to have you back and thanks for the kind comments.

bettsam0731: Yep – see, he´s already on the move!

Pip the Dark Lord of All: Thanks – and I promise more trouble...


	13. To The Rescue

**To The Rescue**

Estel sank to the ground, totally exhausted. His shoulders hurt from his efforts to open the trap door but now he had to admit to himself that it would not budge. Whatever object Galoth had used to weight down the wood fulfilled its purpose perfectly.

"At least I did not break my back", the boy said aloud. His voice sounded strangely muffled in this confined space. The hole was so shallow that, had the door been open, he could have comfortably stuck out his head.

Suddenly, Estel felt like tongs settled around his chest and his breathing sped up. He scooted back until he was stopped by a wall, pressing his back firmly against it, and closed his eyes. He was not normally afraid of small places but now an unfamiliar panic was settling in, an irrational fear that he would suffocate any minute.

It was not true, of course. He mind was certain of that, because there were cracks in the trapdoor´s planks that had allowed earth to trickle down onto his face when he had inspected them earlier. Even so, his heart was not that easily persuaded.

"Alagos will get help", he said, trying for his own courage´s sake to sound confident, "and Elrohir and Elladan will take care of me."

Unless Galoth´s ruse worked. Estel knew that his brothers´ love for him might be their one weakness. He had no doubt that they had survided the earlier attack, and neither did he query that they would tear the human archer to pieces for what he had done to him. The thought was strangely comforting, even though it chilled him all the same. But when would they turn against Galoth? Only once they knew he was safe.

Did the twins truly suspect Galoth´s treachery? Was this what Elrohir had meant when he had said that he knew what the man was about to do? He decided to believe just that, for any other reasoning would have only scared him more. If they had known, they surely had a plan that would not endager either him or them. "They could at least have let me know", Estel grumbled.

His breathing had eased a bit, and to keep himself occupied he allowed his mind to roam through his memories of the past day, trying to find any sign that his brothers had truly found out that the archer could not be trusted. He did recall now that Elladan had talked to Galoth for a while, leaving Elrohir and Estel to bring up the rear of their small group, but he had not said anything about that conversation. The boy had assumed that he had simply been trying to ease the tension.

And then there had been Elrohir´s archery contest with Galoth. It had bemused Estel that his brother had lost, but how could this have raised the twins´ suspicions? He sighed. His exhaustion began to lead his thoughts astray. For a moment he considered trying to fight the tell-tale feeling of heaviness that signalled to him he was about to fall asleep, but then he decided against it. What use was it to stay awake in this hole? He had to trust his brothers. He had to trust his horse.

/

Legolas had the nagging feeling that he was missing something. He had left the village several hours ago and so far, his journey had run smoothly enough. The tracks left behind by six horses only a day earlier were easy to follow, even from the stallion´s back, and the pain in his leg was still bearable.

Nevertheless, a feeling of unease had steadily grown in his mind and it was beginning to distract him from his task. With a sigh, he urged his horse to stop and listened.

The familar sounds of a forest surrounded him, birds chirping away merrily, small animals scuttling through the underbrush, leaves rustling in the light breeze. And yet, the peacefulness seemed fleeting to him. He closed his eyes, intend on the trees´ songs, when he suddenly picked up a new sound.

It was still quite far away, and he would have missed it entirely had he not stopped to listen so closely. After a few more moments he was certain that it was a horse, and one that was in a hurry.

The elf opened his eyes and reached for the bow. He had practiced with it a little once there had been enough light, and even though it was certainly no comparison to the weapon he had lost he was confident that it would serve its purpose.

He loosely nocked an arrow to the string and waited. The horse came closer at a steady pace, obvioulsy using the same path that he was on. What unnerved him was the feeling that he still had not found the source of his original unease. His restlessness began to transfer itself to the stallion, who began to pace and turn as if trying to keep an eye on everything around them.

"Sîdh, mellon nin" /Peace, my friend/ Legolas tried to soothe the steed, but the horse did not calm. Instead, he suddenly threw back his head with an aggressive neigh.

It was answered at once - from two directions, one still very far away, the other uncomfortably close.

A sudden rusteling travelled through the leaves above him though the light breeze had not picked up - the way it often did in Mirkwood just before a pack of spiders would strike. For a moment the elf wavered, unsure which direction to face, but following a sudden impulse he turned the stallion into the direction he had come from and pressed him into a gallop.

Behind him, the other horse was drawing closer, though it was still far off. He sensed no danger from it . The danger lay ahead, in the direction of the village.

His sudden action did not fail to trigger a response. Legolas heard the arrow´s hiss in time to duck to his stallion´s neck, and when he rightened himself again he caught a shadow moving in one of the trees to his right. His own arrow streaked towards it not a heartbeat later, but it was deflected by a branch and harmlessly tumbled through the foilage. Cursing under his breath, he tried to turn the horse to take aim once more, but to his surprise, the stallion did not react.

Instead, he plunged straight on with a purpose of his own, ears flattened to his head and teeth bared in anger. There was nothing the elf could do but hang on and duck low. He slipped the bow onto his back as it was useless without the ability to take proper aim, and drew one of his knives instead.

A second arrow whizzed past, close enough for him to feel the draft. His horse suddenly veered from the path and jumped into the underbrush, seemingly out of its mind, but then he saw a rider before him. It was a human man, that much was certain, and he was only now drawing his sword, as if surprised by the elf´s sudden appearance.

The grey stallion did not slow his approach but simply raced straight into the other horse. The impact almost unseated Legolas and sent a bolt of pain through his leg, but it affected the human even worse. There was the sickening crunch of a broken bone and a yell, followed by the muted clatter of a sword falling to the soft packed earth.

Once Legolas had found his bearings he could see that his horse had pushed the other into a tree, smashing the rider´s leg against the trunk. The man was doubled over in pain in such a boneless way that Legolas knew he no longer presented a threat.

Now, finally, the stallion turned back into the direction of the path. Legolas once again switched weapons, quickly drawing his bow and scanning the treetops for the shadowy archer. He did not like the lack of control he had in this fight, but at least the grey stallion seemed to have a smart brain in his head.

Beneath the trees that lined the path, the horse halted, panting heavily. Legolas appreciated the cover and took a moment to listen. The only thing audible beyond his own horse where the hoofbeats that were still drawing closer. Any other sound had died away.

The birds had fallen silent, the breeze had stilled, the trees had stopped singing. The elf tried to catch on to any sound that lay hidden benath his stallion´s breathing and finally caught the softest scarpe of boot upon branch.

It came from the foilage of the tree they were standing beneath.

Legolas brought up his bow at the same moment that he sensed movement from above. Two arrows were loosened at the exact same moment, and to the elf´s astonishment they grazed each other in midair, causing both shots to go wide.

His next arrow was nocked in no time, his hands doing their duty while his eyes sought out his target. When he finally found it, however, his resolve faltered. Hiding among the still leaves was a slim figure clad in green clothes that blended so perfectly with the foilage that even he would have missed it, had he not known at least in which tree to look.

The face that stared down at him was young, its edges still rounded by the absence of years, and unmistakenly female. When the young woman realized that he had seen her she sneered angrily, bringing up a new arrow of her own. As she took aim she tilted her head slightly, causing the hood to fall away from her head. The move revealed a slightly rounded ear. Not completely round like that of a human. Not pointed like that of an elf.

Totally taken aback now, Legolas lowered his bow, unwilling to shoot one so young and one who gave rise to so many questions.

The girl had no such qualms about him. Not taking her eyes off him she let the arrow fly. He could tell that her aim was true, and only the fact that he had seen the shot coming enabled him to avoid it. She cursed in the common tongued and shot again. And again. It was becoming difficult to sidestep her attacks without the use of his legs, especially because the grey stallion was growing resteless. Legolas could tell that he wanted to flee.

"Who are you?" he called up, at the same time willing his horse to remain in place. "There is no resaon for you to shoot me. Come down and speak to me."

"I have not one reason to kill you, I have hundreds", she replied and suddenly jumped from her branch to the one below, taking advantage of his unwillingness to attack her. "Come down, though, that I will!"

Legolas sensed that he would not be able to avoid her next shot at such close quarters and finally allowed the stallion to spring away, carrying him onto the path. He heard her arrow leave the string with a deadly hum, straining his ears in an effort to tell the shot´s general direction, but the noise of the hooves distracted him.

The missile hit his right arm with enough force to throw him onto the stallion´s neck. For a moment his vision blurred and he felt himself slipping. The horse neighed loudly and altered its direction to stabilize him. His left hand caught the steed´s mane and held on, but he was too dizzy to pull himself up. All he could see was grey legs swirling beneath him, kicking up dirt and a fine spray of dust.

Then they were passed by a second set of legs. Legolas could feel the other horses´s body brush by him, felt the slight slap of a loose stirrup against his shoulder. Blinking away tears that the dust brought to his eyes he looked behind him and saw a brown horse halt and turn, racing to follow them.

He had a slight sense that the horse was familiar but he did not dwell on the thought. All that counted now was that the animal galloped to flank his own, moving in close enough to prevent him from falling. "Daro!" he ground out. "Daro hi."/Stop. Stop now./

Both animals obeyed, the strange one a little more readily than his own. With an effort, Legolas finally managed to heave himself back onto the stallion´s back and remained motionless for a while., resting his cheek against the coarse grey mane.

When he sat up, he found the brown horse staring at him with questioning eyes. The grey stallion had turned his head to do the same, both regarding him with a graveness that almost made him laugh. "Aye, I know. I should have been more careful."

The animals snorted, both at the same time as if in agreement. "Very well, it looks like now I am being mothered by horses", Legolas mumbled as he used the hand of his good arm to search through Meila´s pouch with healing supplies. Hearing his own voice helped to anchor him in the here and now, though his mind was reeling with the discovery of the young woman.

It was by no means unheard of that elves and men had children – Lord Elrond being proof of that – but it was rare indeed. For one so young to live in these wooods without anybody´s knowledge was nothing short of a mystery.

As was the reason for her hatred.

Legolas twisted to have a look at her arrow. The archer in him noted that it was crafted with care and fledged with patience, as a good arrow should be. He could not help to also realize, however, that it would be next to impossible for him to draw it out on his own. The angle simply did not allow for him to gain the needed leverage.

With a sigh, he tied a bandage around the object to stabilize it. Thankfully he could feel that the weapon had merely pierced his flesh, an injury which he had suffered often enough in the past to recognize it. Unfortunately this did not mean that there was no pain – one simply did not grow used to being pierced by arrows. To his immense relief Meila had equipped him with a generous amount of plants that would dull the throbbing. He chose several leaves with a slightly reddish hue and began to chew them.

Even with the pain abating, his inability to use his right arm remained and it endagered him almost as much as his inablity to walk. He briefly considered turning back towards the village to seek Meila´s help, but quickly thought better of it. He had the sinking feeling that doing so would only lead her into more danger.

With another deep sigh, he considered his situation. He could not walk , not shoot, and rode a horse that clearly only obeyed him when it saw fit. Then there was the matter of the second horse and why it seemed slightly familiar to him – he could not put his finger on it, but he was certain that he needed to remember where he had seen the animal before...

His thoughts came to an abrupt stop when voices drifted through the calm forest air. Voices that were raised in anger, accomapined once more by the hammering of hooves.

Riders were approaching.

Riders who did not seem friendly.

_To be continued_

Once again, thank you so much for reading and reviewing! This next week will be very busy for me so I cannot promise a speedy update. I will do my very best to be fast, though.

Review Responses:

snowywolf7: Yep, he at least tries to ride to the rescue* g*

bettsam 0731: You COULD be correct with that assessment...

AgentsofArda: Oh my, thank you for that review – blushes – I´m truly happy that you enjoy the story so much!

Guest: Yep, the horse is helpful, but in his own way, LOL

Horsegirl01: You are quite right, trouble is already there – and then some!

sehellys: Thanks! I´ve grown rather fond of Meila myself and I sure hope my evil plotbunny is going to be nice to her... Sorry for the rather slow update but there´s a lot going on here right now (planning a kid´s birthday, anyone?)

SnoCat: *Smells the air* Nope, it´s not just you. It certainly smells like trouble (Did I mention that the plotbunny for this story is called Trouble?)


	14. Unexpected Appearances

**Unexpected Appearances**

Legolas was profoundly grateful that the grey stallion seemed to agree with him this time, allowing them to hide in time before the humans had reached them. Still, trying not to be discovered close to a path with two horses was not the safest endeavour, prompting him to draw one of his knives. He frevently hoped he would not need it.

The angry voices drew closer quickly. Soon he could make out what the men were saying. "Curse Galoth", one shouted, "he never told us we would be slaughtered by elves when helping him."

"He says it was neccessary", another called back,"and we are still alive to share more of the loot, so don´t wet your pants."

"Who says we won´t be next ?", a third man asked. "Lord Elrond´s sons lived up to their legend back there, and that Galoth has taken away their little brother won´t make them any tamer."

"Don´t be such a fool! They won´t know of his betrayal until they have reached our camp, and then they will be too scared for that human brat to attack us!"

The horses thundered by now, their riders far too engaged in their conversation to look left or right.

"Aye, and then Lord Elrond will pay a nice rasom to get them all back! Works for me!"

Laughter arose, though it was soon replaced by more grumbling and whining about the dangers of their plan.

Legolas waited until he could no longer hear the men or their horses before he urged the grey stallion back onto the path. The pain in his arm had faded away even more as his anger had steadily risen, and now he barely felt it. The men had left broad tracks that could easily be followed, even in the pale moonlight that now iluminated them, and he set out to do so without hesitation.

From what he had heard he gathered that he would find Galoth and the twins somehwere close by, and he intended to let Galoth feel the bite of his knife without further questions. The thought of Estel in in danger yet again enraged him more than he had anticipated.

The horses seemed to sense his grim mood, because neither tried to refuse his lead this time. They followed the path in tense silence, until all of a sudden Alagos, who had cantered along the grey´s side, took the lead, his nostrils flaring. No sooner had he done so than a neigh could be heard from not far away, and Alagos answered it eagerly.

Legolas considered reining in the horses to approach whoever was out there more stealthily, but then abandoned the thought. Who knew whether he would even be able to still the animals, and truth be told, he was uncertain whether he woul be all that silent on foot. A light-headedness had befallen him, either due to the wound or the leaves he had chewed or simple exhaustion. He did not care which, but he knew he would rather invest his remaining strength in slitting Galoth´s throat than in fighting for control with two stubbotn horses.

Alagos and the grey neighed together now, their answer following quickly, and thus it took them only a few moments to come upon the glow of a fire among the trees. Legolas drew his knife once more, eyes fxed on the clearing, and braced himself when the horses cleared the last trees to come to a halt close to the fire.

Immediately, Legolas found himself faced with an arrow. His hand twitched to release his knife at his attacker, but he caught himself just as the missile was lowered.

"By the Valar, Legolas!" Elrohir stared at him in disbelief. "What do you think you are doing, barging in on us like that!"

Elladan looked up from where he sat by the fire, interrupted in the middle of cleaning a wound that ran along his left arm. Judging by the amount of soiled rags that lay nearby this was not the first wound he attended to, yet despite of his several bandages he seemed well enough. Now that the sense of an impeding battle had left him, Legolas could smell the sweet scent of healing herbs in the air.

The older twin´s face was unreadable. "It would look like our dear friend would like to join us in binding our wounds." He rather pointedly looked at the prince´s arm and the arrow that was still embedded in it.

Elrohir, who was clearly only now recovering from his surprise, swore under his breath. "Truly, it is a wonder that Mirkwood still has an heir. How did you manage to sustain a new injury when you should still be in bed with the last?"

"I came to your rescue", Legolas answered with a small smile and slid off the grey stallion´s back, hoping that the humour in his voice and the fact that he was capable of dismounting on his own would appease the younger twin. Unfortunately, the desired effect was ruined by the way he swayed as soon as his feet, especially the splinted one, had touched the ground.

"I can see how you are an asset to our defences", Elrohir said dryly, expertly catching his friend under the arms to avoid touching the arrow when he lowered him to the ground. "You could simply faint on the next man trying to kill us."

Elladan snorted and Legolas bit his lip, considering it wise not to say anything just now. He focused on steadying his breaths and taking in the small camp. His two horses had joined the three others that stood nearby, the five of them exchanging quite nickers

On the other side of the fire he only now noticed the sleeping figure of a man, a bow resting next to him... Legolas pushed himself up onto his good foot, fully intending to carry out his earlier plan to kill Galoth, but was firmly pressed to the ground again by Elrohir, who now appeared at his side bearing several pouches.

"Leave him be for now", he said quietly, "we have given him enough sleeping herbs to last for several hours.

"But he has abducted Estel!" Legolas shouted angrily. "It is a pity that I shall now have to wait until I can kill him!"

"We know what he did", Elladan said calmly. "And killing him will service no one. Not yet."He had walked over to them and knelt by Legolas´ side, gingerly examining where the arrow had struck him.

"You know?" Legolas asked in disbelief. "But why did you let him do it then?"

"Because we knew he would not harm Estel. He needed him to pressure us into yielding once he had let us to the poachers´ camp."

Legolas was not sure whether his new injury slowed his thoughts or whether he had truly missed a vital revelation or two. "You know that Galoth is the leader of the poachers? Then why is he still alive? Why not take him out and be done with this sorrowful affair?" He drew in a breath, still confused. "And how did you learn he was the culprit in the first place?"

"We suspected him at the village meeting already", Elladan explained. "It was a strange coincidence that first our dear old friend is killed by an archer and then it is an archer who seems to save us from the villagers´ wrath."

"We agreed to his plan mainly to lead the danger away from the village and to confirm our suspicion", Elrohir continued. "He lead us here and there all day, passing several fresh tracks to present us with traps that were at least a week old."

"He also demonstrated his superior skills with the bow, affirming that he could have been the killer." The look Elladan shot the sleeping human made Legolas wonder how much self control it took the older twin not to slay him. "He lead us straight into an ambush next, again pretending to be a saviour by leading Estel to what he called safety."

Elrohir nodded, his face as dark as his brother´s. "It was clear to us that he could not have set all the traps by himself, that there had to be more behind this than a single man. Strangely, he seemed to know a lot about elves when Elladan spoke to him, including the fact that humans have great disadvantages against us in battle."

"Thus considering Estel the prefect leverage."

"Indeed. There is no doubt that now he will lead us into the heart of this devilry, secure in his belief that he will be able to take us captive once the time is right. But it is still a mystery to us why he would even do such hateful things. Men like Betham follow him readily, lost in personal pain, as do those whom he may have promised money. But his motive has not yet unveiled itself to us."

"Maybe it is money as well." Legolas related to the twins what he had heard the men say on the path, and he also took the chance to tell them of the girl in the trees.

They were so astonished by his tale that they did not even mock him for getting shot by a child.

"Aye, a mixed child? How can it be that no one seems to know of this?" Elrohir looked truly troubled. "She has cetrainly not been revealed to any elven community father is in contact with. What if she does not even know of her heritage? Poor creature, it must be confusing to be the same as her peers and yet so different."

"Secrets often breed violence." Elladan said darkly. "This cannot be a coincidence. We need to keep our eyes open and talk to her as soon as possible."

"I wish you the best of luck", Legolas said with a pointed glance at the arrow.

"Ah yes, which reminds me." Elrohir finally unpacked his healing supplies. He threw his brother a questioning glance. "It should not be too difficult to remove", the older twin answered the silent question. "Thank the Valar that Arwen is not here, or Legolas would have certainly arrived with the arrow a mere inch from his heart."

Remembering their earlier jibes, Legolas could not help but grin at that. "Who knew you considered your beautiful sister such an ill omen?"

"Only when it comes to you" Elrohir replied evenly. "Yet even though you are thankfully not on the brink of death this time, the fresh wound does nothing to improve your state of health, my friend. You need proper rest once the arrow is removed, yet Galoth should not see you once he wakes."

"Easily accomplished", Elladan said with a shrug. "I shall give Galoth more sleeping herbs. It will provide us with more time and him with more of a headache." He grinned evilly.

Finally equipped with enough time and peace of mind, the twins set to work.

/

Estel woke with a start. For a moment he was so disoriented that he could not even tell whether he was actually awake, but then his memory returned and with it the remembrance of his prison.

Sighing, he rightened himself against a dirt wall and glanced upwards. Dull grey light began to seep in between the boards, but it was not that which had woken him. Suddenly, his senses snapped fully awake. Someone was walking across the clearing. The steps were light, very light, almost like those of an elf.

For a moment he considered calling out, thinking that maybe it was one of his brothers come to set him free, but then caution overrode his hope and he remained silent. Listening closely, he soon discovered that the steps were not those of someone randomly wandering about.

Rather, they seemed to circle his prison, pausing now and again as if to listen or as if unsure whether to approach even fruther. As the morning light slowly grew stronger, he could even see a shadow darkly sliding over the trapdoor every time the stranger passed by.

After a while, the boy grew tired of the breathless tension. He had no doubt that so shortly after being forced open, the trapdoor would be clearly visible. He was also fairly certain that whoever this was either knew of him or at least suspected him to be there. Why this game of sneaking around then?

Gathering his courage, Estel finally raised his voice. "Whoever you are, I would appreciate some breakfast!"

The steps halted immediately. Then, almost in a rush, they quickly approached and a figure knelt on the trapdoor, clearly peering inside. Estel hoped that this person saw as little of him as he did of the other. When the silence dragged on, he sighed and asked: "So, did you bring any breakfast?"

The stranger hesitated before getting to his feet again. A moment later the trapdoor raised itself with a painful squeak. Estel took a deep breath, then another, relieved by the sudden lightness on his chest.

His rescuer had stepped back beyond his range of vision and neither said a word nor offered any food. The boy slowly raised himself to his feet, then almost sat down again when he realized that an arrow was pointed at his face.

"Stay in there, child!" a light voice hissed, "for if you do not, I shall kill you." There was a cold to the tone that told Estel not to take the warning lightly. Still, he remained upright and squinted against the bright light in an attempt to see who he was talking to. When he finally did, he could not hide his surprise.

"You are a girl!"

"A girl with a bow, so you should not take any chances. Eat!" With one of her booted feet she pushed a piece of bread towards him, then a flask of water. Estel accepted both gratefully. As he ate, his eyes slowly adjusted to the light and he could see the young woman more clearly.

She wore green clothes not unlike those he had often seen on Legolas. Her blond hair was braided away from a slightly dirty face with delicate features that were dominated by a pair of keen blue eyes. She wore a scarf tied around her head.

When he had finished eating, the boy wiped his mouth on his sleeve and pushed the flask back towards her. "Thank you", he said. "My name is Estel."

She snorted, the corners of her mouth drawn up in a snarl. "Such a fitting name", she spat. "Hope should serve you well once you sit alone and forgotten in your prison again."

"Not forgotten by you, it seems", he said carefully. "And pray tell, how do you know the meaning of my name?"

He caught a flash of insecurity across her face, but it was immediately replaced by a scowl. "What is that to you, brat? Do you believe that only Lord Elrond´s little pets understand the pointy-ears´ drawl? You should not be so arrogant."

"I was merely trying to solve a little riddle", Estel replied, nonplussed both by her knowledge and her seemingly boundless anger. Yet her anger could also be used against her, or so the twins had often told him, and he decided to press his advantage.

"Will you be so kind as to allow me a little walk? I need to relieve myself."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously and Estel carefully schooled his features into innoncence. It was not too difficult, as what he had said was not a lie.

"Lhagr, deleb adan" /Quickly, disgusting human/ she finally said. "And rest assured, should you try to trick me I shall have no qualms about shooting you. Only a few hours ago I shot an elf too spineless to shoot me first."

Estel pushed himself out of the hole, his arms trembling slightly. He was not sure whether it was his nervousness or the deathly truth in her words that chilled him more. He could only pray to the Valar to give him the speed and agility he would need to stay alive.

Slowly, Estel began to walk.

_**To be continued...**_

Finally, a new chapter. I hope you liked it. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

Review responses:

Pip the Dark Lord of All: Glad you liked it. And here are a few more hints about the girl...

Aini NuFire: Thanks! Well, at least Legolas has found the wtins and someone has found Estel...

Horsegirl01: Not too much "horseaction" for you this time, I am afraid, but there will be more soon. Thanks as always!

SnoCat: Hm, let´s see – Estel is found by the slightly crazy girl... *g* I hope you liked it!

Ara Godess of the Broken: Thanks! See my PM about LMP

Agentsodarda: Well, you had a few of your questions answered at least. And the horse will play quite a role next time around...

bettsam0731: * g* And I thought I was evil... I hope you don´t mind that Legolas has some help now.


	15. Grapes of Wrath

**Grapes of Wrath**

Estel ran.

He could hear the girl behind him curse, and a moment later the familiar yet terrifying hum of an arrow followed him like an angry swarm of bees.

On instinct, he turned to his right sharply and was rewarded by the dull thump of the missile hitting a tree. His heart was in his throat now, beating painfully. For some reason he had not thought that she would make true of her threat with such deadly intent, but there was no turning back now.

Fear made his head spin, yet at the same time it fuelled his strength. It felt like his feet barely touched the ground as he ran even faster, dodging left and right, ducking low beneath the foilage or jumping over fallen trunks. Low-hanging branches left scrapes on his face that he barely felt. All that counted now was outrunning death.

Estel soon lost any sense of time and place. He could not even tell how many arrows had whooshed past him, some close enough to make him feel their draft. When he suddenly burst into a clearing that robbed him of any cover, he had too much momentum to stop himself.

All that was left was to pump his legs even faster, to hope against hope that he had put enough distance between himself and the girl to reach the other side without getting shot.

"Stop or you are dead!" The voice was frighteningly close. Estel´s hightened senses could tell that the girl had stopped running, taking her time to aim properly, and he new without a doubt that she would not miss again if she chose to kill him. Another arrow closed in on him and disappeared into the grass by his feet, near enough to graze his boot. The warning was as clear as it could be.

His legs slowed almost without his consent and finally crumbled beneath him, sending him to the ground in a heap. Lungs heaving, all he could do was to wait for her reaction.

It was only then that he realized that the clearing was covered in very high grass – high enough to obscure his view now that he was on his knees. For a moment he contemplated ducking low and crawling away under its cover, but the sheer stupidity of this plan made him chuckle. It was an embarrassingly desperate sound.

"Laughing at me will not ease my anger!" the girl spat furiously. "Now get up and raise your hands and maybe I will not kill you just yet."

Estel tried to comply, he truly did, but it seemed like he had completely lost command of his legs. They would not obey his orders and stayed exactly as they were, too tired from the flight to do more than twitch a muscle.

"Get up, I said!" He could hear the grass rustle as she began to walk towards him and he bleakly wondered whether she would believe him if he said that he simply could not stand. He considered telling her when his next attempt to rise was to no avail, but a sudden sound stopped him. It was a growl, and it came from nearby.

"Hold on!" he called out, finally able to at least straighten enough to turn his head and look over his shoulder, barely managing to look over the grass. "There is something hiding in the meadow!"

The sight that greeted him was not encouraging. Even though the girl was still quite a few paces away, the arrow she had pointed at him seemed far too near and the fury that boiled in her keen eyes spoke of little pity. Her mouth twisted in an angry snarl as a response to his warning.

"Do you expect me to believe that, little elf-friend? What, is your precious father crawling through the grass, come here by the magic people say he possesses to save his little human? Do not take me for such a fool because..."

And then, all of a sudden, she vanished as if she had been walking on a frozen lake and the ice had broken beneath her feet. For a moment Estel was too stunned to even understand that the threat was suddenly gone, and his high-strung mind wondered whether she had simply turned invisible.

But then he heard her scream. It was not a sound of fear but one of pain, and it was accompanied by more snarling and the thumps and rustles of a desperate fight.

Estel´s legs chose this moment to obey him again and he sprang up, ready to run for the trees, but then he found that – again - he could not. This time he did not have his legs to blame but the small voice inside his heart that insisted he could not leave the girl to her possible death. He cursed himself, wishing that he could simply leave. However, there was no way he would be able to live with the memory of her agony, of her screaming in terror while he turned his back.

Cursing again, he waded through the grass towards the girl and her assailant, both still hidden from sight. Only the blades indicated their position, swaying and breaking were they rolled here and there in their struggle. He dimly wondered what he would do once he reached them, weaponless as he was, when he remembered the arrow she had shot at him. He began to search for it, slowly at first, then with encreasing panic. He could not understand why he suddenly felt so obliged to save the girl. Maybe it was the sheer fear in her screams and their increasing weakness.

Finally, his searching hands collided with the wooden shaft and he yanked it free , losing no time to race for the girl. When he reached the area of crushed grass and had a clear view of the girl and her attacker, the sight that greeted him froze him in his tracks.

The girl was on her back, her clothes torn and bloody, both hands holding on to an arrow . Its tip was broken and useless, and yet it was her only and last protection from the wolf that hovered above her. It had cleary tried to rip out her thoat, only to find its jaws stopped by the thin wooden shaft that was now wedged between the rows of sharp teeths.

The girl´s arms were quivering with the effort and there were tears streaming from her eyes, but she still looked at the beast, still struggled to find leverage with her legs to throw it off.

Estel could tell she would not succeed. The arrow´s shaft was alreday bending beneath the strength of the enraged creature. It was only a matter of seconds before it would shatter.

With a few quick strides, he covered the distance between them. The smell of blood was suddenly so overpowering that it made him gag, and he could see the wolf´s eye turn towards him. Without even thinking about it, he jumped forward and plunged the arrow into the wolf´s eye.

What happened next would always remain a blurr to him. The wolf howled and tried to run from its pain, but it could not due to the metal chain with its jaws of steel that held it trapped. Estel somehow managed to pull the girl free and drag her away, shouting words he did not remember later.

Then, all of a sudden, there was another voice, calling his name. His confusion did not allow him to immediately recognize it but he turned towards it even so, pulling the dead weight of the girl along. Behind him the wolf still raged until there was the song of another arrow, followed by silence.

Estel plunged on through the high grass, on and on and on to reach the trees. He was dimly aware of his name being called but still would not stop until all of a sudden he walked in the bulk of a horse.

The solild warmth of the animal brougth him to his senses and he looked up into Legolas´concerned face.

"Estel, are you hurt?" The boy could tell by his friend´s tone of voice and the fear clearly etched into his fair face that the elf had pobably asked this question many times. He found the strength to nod, the girl slipping from his grasp to the ground.

"Yes" he rasped, his voice sounding strangely unfamiliar to his own ears. "Even though she tried to kill me." Legolas sighed with relief and peered past the boy to the unconscious girl. "Did she now? Well then, that makes two of us."

/

Legolas gingerly lifted the girl´s arm to make sure her worst wound had finally stopped bleeding. When he found the bandage free of red stains, he breathed a sigh of relief. It was a feeling that kept flooding through himn ever since he had discovered Estel and the girl about an hour ago.

It had been a stroke of luck that he had found them – aided by the uncanny instinct of Estel´s horse that even now stood close by its master, nudging him gently ever so often. The boy looked a bit better now than he had at first, but there was still a haunted expression in his eyes and his features were far too pale. The elf shook his head, pitying the boy for the ordeal that he had been through.

"Your arm is bleeding." Legolas shook himself from his thoughts to find Estel looking at him keenly. "You should not have moved it so much. You certainly should not have used your bow."

The woodlef snorted. "And what should I have done instead? Leave you to your own devices? Leave that wolf to suffer?" He peered at his bandage and was satisfied that there was but little blood. The wound hurt him, it was true, as did his leg, but both pains were perfectly bearable.

"I could have taken care of the girl myself", Estel answered defiantly.

The elf bit down his smile. It was not his wish to make fun of the boy. "I know that, Estel. I have my own life to prove how capable you are. But together we could help her faster. Why make her suffer when the price to pay for helping her was so low?"

Now it was the boy´s turn to chuckle, some of the tension easing from his face. "Why? Well, maybe because she shot you not too long ago."

"And she tried to kill you", Legolas smoothly replied. "Even so, you faced an injured wolf to save her. What does that make us?"

"Fools", came the whispered reply from the ground. The girl´s eyes had slipped open, even though the potion they had given her dulled their gleam. "You shall not – not be..." Her voice faltered. Legolas smiled down at her without malice. "Do not tax your strentgth with insults, tithen-wen. Sleep and heal."/little girl/

The look she gave him spoke volumes, but she could not keep her eyes open and soon slept yet again.

"Should she sleep with her eyes closed?" Estel asked curiously. "Or does she do so due to her injuries?"

Legolas shrugged. "I cannot tell, my friend. Your father sleeps with his eyes open, as you know, but mayhap that is because he chose an elven life. He will be able to answer your question for sure."

Estel nodded and leaned back against a tree, his hand finding and stroking Alagos´ soft snout. He glanced across at Legolas and could not quite hide a grin when he saw the grey stallion nudge the elf to also get some affection.

"You did not yet tell me how you found your new horse", he said.

The elf looked up in surprise, then smiled a little sadly and stroked the massive animal´s head. "Ah, he is not mine. He merely helped my escape, that is all."

"You may not have chosen him, but he certainly has chosen you", the boy observed. "What is is name?"

Legolas shook his head. "Again, I have no answer. I am not even sure he has one, for he has given his owner so much grief that I doubt he named him yet."

"Then you should, for he has certainly not given you grief, has he?"

Legolas chuckled at that. "Less grief than help, that much is certain." The grey stallion nickered and nudged the elf again to make him resume his stroking. Legolas turned to look into the observant dark eyes and was surprised to find that Estel was correct. The grey was his horse, he felt it in his heart. The realization made him slightly uneasy, for his trusted mare had only been dead a few days. Then again, these days felt far longer than they had actually been.

"Estel has a pont, you truly deserve a name." His hand travelled over the light grey fur. "What you like to listen to Faun?"/Cloud/ The stallion snorted, spraying the elf with a thin layer of droplets.

The boy burst out lauging. "Such an apt name! But maybe Faun-Tegi-Ross would be even more accurate." /Cloud-Bringing-Rain/

Legolas good-naturedly wiped his face. "You are correct yet again, my young friend, but how should I give him orders with such a long name?"

"From the look of it, he is not prone to follow orders in any case", Estel observed, still laughing. It clearly felt good to laugh again after so many hours of fear and doubt. Legolas laughed along with him, and for just a moment, the air seemed a little warmer and the sun a little brigther.

Then the moment passed.

"We have to make a choice now, Estel" Legolas said with a sigh and leaned forward. "I wished we could postpone it just a little to let you rest, but matters are pressing. What shoud be our next move?"

Estel looked slightly taken aback by the question, but then a small, proud smile appeared on his face. "You need to tell me everything that you know" he replied, "and I shall do the same. Then, we shall make our choice."

So beneath the warm sun, guarding the fallen girl, the elf and the boy talked.

/

Not too far away from them, Galoth had only just awoken from his long sleep with a burning headache and a taste for revenge. He shot sly glances at the elven twins as they broke camp and prepared to ride into his trap. Soon, he would be able to reap the fruits of his long-laid plans.

_To be continued..._

Thank you so much for your patience and, as always, for your lovely reviews!

Review responses:

Mirkwood warrior: Thank you! Sorry for the slow update.

Aini-NuFire: Hm – good guesses - maybe! Thanks for your review.

Guest: I can assure you that the girl will NOT be a love interest. I´m glad you enjoy the story!

Horsegirl01: Funny how you can always see the angst coming *g* About Arwen – in an earlier chapter the twins joked that since Estel has now saved Legolas´ life, the only one of the siblings not to have done so is Arwen.

Pip the Dark Lord of all: Yep – here you go, he did escape!

AgentsofArda: Thanks! I´m happy you like it so much. I cannot answer all of your questions, obviously – but I can tell you that "Alina" is a common name here and I simply added the "h" because because there already is a ff author who uses the name without the "h". Please keep reviewing!


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